REPORT 



OF 



BRIG. GEN. GEO. W. DAVIS, U. S. V., 



ON 



CIVIL AFFAIRS OF PUERTO RICO. 



18 9 9. 



WASHINGTON: 

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE. 
1900. 



A 

REPORT 



OF 



BRIG. GEN. GEO. W. DAVIS, U. S. V., 



ox 



CIVIL AFFAIRS OF PUERTO RICO. 



18 9 9. 



WASHINGTON: 

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE. 
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Page. 

1. Introduction • 5 

2. The former regime 7 

3. The provincial deputation 11 

4. The present regime 12 

5. Policy of the military governor 14 

6. The population 15 

7. Public order ; crimes and prisons 18 

8. The clergy 22 

9. Education 23 

i 0. The judiciary 26 

II. The currency 29 

^2. Trade statistics 33 

Sj. Agriculture and its development 35 

A. Sugar 36 

15 Coffee 38 

Pobacco 40 

i . Public property 41 

j8. Franchises and privileges 42 

19. Public works 43 

20. Mail service 46 

21. The quarantine 47 

22. The treasury '. 47 

23. Audit of accounts 47 

24. The budget 49 

25. Mortgages 57 

26. Politics 58 

27. Municipalities 60 

28. Financial statistics 66 

29. The hurricane of August 8 67 

30. Future civil government 69 

S 



LETTER OF SUBMITTAL. 



Headquarters 
Department of Puerto Eico, Civil Division, 

San Juan, October 13, 1899. 

Sir: 1 have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of a letter from 
the Department dated August 3, 1899, directing me to submit an 
annual report on the civil government of Puerto Pico that has been 
administered by the commanding general of the troops in this island 
since the transfer of sovereignty of the same to the United States. 

The work has just been completed and has proven to be one of very 
great magnitude, I greatly regret that I could not sooner complete it, 
but the importance of this subject was so momentous that I felt I 
wuld be justified in exceeding somewhat the time limit fixed in letter 
of instructions above referred to. 

I hope that the presentation which I now have the honor to submit 
may be found of some value. I am sensible that there are many other 
subjects that deserve consideration, and phases of considered subjects 
that might well be further elaborated, but I do not feel warranted in 
appropriating more time for such broader treatment. In this report I 
have referred to apposite historical incidents and precedents, but these 
references are necessarily brief, and perhaps inaccuracies of citation of 
dates have crept in, for the books of reference at my command are 
very few. 

I wish to bear testimony to the universal kindness and deference that 
has been extended to me by the native Puerto Eicans. Nothing could 
be more cordial than their reception of the military representative 
of the Executive branch of the United States Government. I have 
found it to be necessary, as I believed, in the discussion of civil affairs, 
past and present, to advert in strong terms to the general unfitness of 
the great mass of the people for self-government, and unfortunately the 
number of the intelligent, learned, and responsible natives bears a very 
small ratio to the illiterate and irresponsible. If the percentage of 
those who are not able to read and write was as small as that of those 
who can, I would have the greatest pleasure in recommending the imme- 
diate endowment of the island with full autonomy. Under such con- 
ditions I would gladly deliver over the reins of territorial government 
to men who would be the choice of such a clientele. 

The report has been arranged into convenient titles or captions. In 
the appendix will be found a very large mass of data not heretofore 
published or compiled. 

The report is submitted as containing the results of my best efforts 
applied in a limited time to a most important subject. 
Very respectfully, 

Geo. W. Davis, 
Brigadier- General, U. S. Y., Commanding. 

The Adjutant-General, U. S. A., 

Washington, D. C. 

5 



REPORT 

ON THE 

CIVIL GOVERNMENT OF PUERTO RICO 



Headquarters Department of Puerto Eico, 

Civil Division, 
San Juan, September 30, 1899. 

Sir: With respect to the military government of this island and its 
political, social, and industrial conditions I have not heretofore sub- 
mitted any formal communication. The reason is that my opportunities 
for observation and study have been limited to the period of my duty 
here, which commenced on May 8 last. 

The problems of government presented have been numerous and 
greatly varied in aspect and in import. There was scarcely any feature 
of the existing method of administration under the local laws that was 
familiar to our countrymen. Judicial procedure was strange, and the 
temperament, mode of life, and manners of the inhabitants differed 
greatly from those with which Americans are conversant^ 

A profound study of the people, their habits, customs, and aspira- 
tions, is essential to a bare conception of the task with which I was 
confronted, and a mastery of the problems presented can not be 
expected in any brief period. 

At the time of my arrival not a page of the voluminous laws of the 
island, all of Spanish origin, had been translated into English. Those 
laws, upon which the whole fabric of society was based, were as a sealed 
book and had been so to my predecessors. Fortunately I had been 
able to learn something of Spanish institutions through study and by 
observation during a brief tour of duty in Cuba. That opportunity 
was used for observation of the Cuban system of administration and 
jurisprudence, which was similar to that prevailing in Puerto Rico. 

It is not, therefore, without misgivings that these general remarks 
respecting the civil affairs of Puerto Eico are now submitted for the 
consideration of the Department. 

THE FORMER REGIME. 

The regime prevailing in Puerto Eico previous to the adoption of the 
autonomic system was a constant source of discontent to the natives of 
the country and a permanent cause of social and economic unrest. All 
the governmental and administrative machinery being placed in the 
hands of one man, the cooperation of valuable and responsible native 
elements was systematically rejected, individual initiative of every 
sort was rendered ineffectual, empiricism was transformed into a sys- 
tem of government, and routine formed the basis of public adminis- 
tration. The natural consequence of such a regime was the stagnation 
of the country, and this was the actual result. 

7 



8 REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W DAVIS. 

There were other respects wherein the system was extremely preju- 
dicial to public interests. It fostered the creation of a political party 
composed of Spanish residents of the islands, into whose hands was 
completely surrendered the interior administration in return for the 
service of helping at all times to elect for representatives of Puerto Eico 
in the Spanish Cortes deputies and senators identified with the poli- 
tics of the home cabinet. This policy of do ut des converted the island 
into a fief of a group of foreigners and their native allies; and, as was 
to be expected, the most absolute administrative corruption resulted 
therefrom, especially in the matter of tax assessments, the natural 
sequel being standing grievances and continual uneasiness. 

Such a condition of affairs was the cause of complaints and repre- 
sentations for a period of thirty years, when at last the Spanish Gov- 
ernment, urged by diplomatic action in connection with the war in 
Cuba, established in both islands the autonomic regime, which is the 
origin of the late system of secretaries in existence when the United 
States came into sovereign power. 

The functions of sovereignty (which might be called the federal 
functions) were, by virtue of this system, severed from the functions 
relating to the local government. The former remained with the 
Governor-General as the representative of the home government, while 
the latter were transferred to the insular cabinet, consisting of the 
council of secretaries. 

In everything that exclusively concerned the island these secretaries 
assumed the powers that under the old system appertained to the 
Governor-General. Wider latitude and power were given them in 
financial matters than are accorded the States and Territories of the 
Union ; for the treasury of Puerto Kico was separated from that of the 
nation, and the customs, revenues, and imposts of the island were all 
X>aid into the insular exchequer. From these revenues were drawn 
large sums to pay a part of the expenses of maintaining the ministry 
of the colonies, and another very large sum was assigned to support 
the military and naval establishments in Puerto Eico. 

Up to the end of the year 1896 the Spanish administration in Puerto 
Eico was organized in the following manner: 

First. A Governor-General, who was chief of the civil administra- 
tion and commander-in-chief of the army and navy. As executive 
dependencies he had: A secretary, for the dispatch of administrative 
business; a department of the treasury (intendencia) for economic and 
financial business; a bureau of public works for roads, bridges, build- 
ings, etc. ; a chief of staff for army affairs, and a naval commander for 
naval affairs. Legislation for Puerto Eico emanated from the colonial 
ministry at Madrid, and was published by the Governor-General in the 
Gazette here, and by him enforced. 

Second. For the purpose of administration the island was called a 
province, and possessed: 

A provincial board of deputies (diputacion provincial), composed of 
members elected by suffrage; 

A towu council in each town, whose members were also elected by 
suffrage, the suffrage being enjoyed by residents of 25 years of age who 
possessed a professional diploma or who paid taxes of not less than 
5 pesos. 

The town council had the same powers that they have today. The 
Government named the alcaldes and could select any one for office. 
To day these appointments are made by the civil secretary, upon the 
approval of the Governor-General. When practicable the town council 



REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 9 

is permitted to hold an election and nominate one of its members to 
the civil secretary for appointment. 

In the beginning of 1897 Canovas del Castillo's so-called reforms 
were instituted. These gave larger powers to the diputacion provin- 
cial and to the town councils. But the reforms were of but short 
duration, for in November of the same year the decree establishing 
autonomy in Cuba and Puerto Rico was published. 

This form of government was put into practice on February 11, 1898, 
and lasted, with a few variations, until this island was annexed to the 
United States. 

The autonomous regime included the following: 

1. A Governor-General, named by the Queen of Spain, who was 
commander-in-chief of the army and the navy. In civil and political 
matters he could not intervene unless authorized by the cabinet, formed 
of the secretaries of the insular government. 

2. An insular cabinet, composed of a president, a secretary of gov- 
ernment and justice, a secretary of the treasury, a secretary of educa- 
tion, a secretary of public works, and a secretary of agriculture. 

3. An assembly or parliamentary legislative body to vote the budgets 
and legislate in local matters, but without powers of legislation in 
political, civil, or judicial matters; all of which had to follow the laws 
in force in Spain and were voted upon by the National Parliament. 

4. The city councils were to be declared autonomous and universal 
suffrage for all males of more than twenty-five years to be established. 

When the Spanish Government granted this plan of autonomy there 
were said to be four political parties in the island, viz, the Spanish 
pa ty, which up till then had held the reins of government; the Oppor- 
tunists, or those of the Spanish party who accepted autonomy; the 
Pure Autonomists, a local party which had opposed the Spanish Gov- 
ernment and had incessantly clamored for colonial autonomy; and the 
Liberal party, an offshoot of the Autonomist party. There were other 
designations and other groups or factions known by various names, 
such as the Orthodox Autonomists, Conservatives, and Radicals. 

It is said that the Spanish Government wished that these parties 
should have part in the autonomous government. Therefore, on the 
11th of February, 1897, the insular government came into existence, 
with the following functionaries: 

President, Francisco M. Quinones; secretary of treasury, Manuel 
Fernandez Juncos; secretary of education, Manuel F. Rossy, Autono- 
mists; secretary of government, Luis Muhoz Rivera; secretary of 
public works, Juan Hernandez Lopez; secretary of agriculture, Jose 
M. Quinones, Sagasta Liberals. 

Immediately thereafter elections were held for representatives to the 
national and insular parliaments. It is asserted that the secretary of 
government had provisionally nominated his political allies to the posi- 
tions of alcaldes and town councilors, completely excluding the Autono- 
mists, and that he used his influence with the alcaldes of his nomina- 
tion to oblige them to see that national representatives in sympathy 
with Sagasta were returned for the Spanish Parliament and his own 
political friends for the insular parliament, leaving the Autonomists 
minority representation. The war between Spain and the United 
States having just been declared, the Autonomists, as a protest against 
the scandalous elections which were asserted to have been conducted 
by the secretary of government in combination with the alcaldes, 
resigned their places in the government and decided not to attend the 
insular parliament. 



10 REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 

The three Autonomist secretaries retired from the cabinet on the 
20th of July, five days before the Americans disembarked at Guanica. 

The insular parliament was then conveued, attended only by the 
Liberals. The members of the other three parties — the Autonomists, 
Opportunists, and Spanish — all retired, it is said, in protest of the elec- 
tions just held. 

During the few days that its sessions lasted this body resolved to 
modify the cabinet so as to make it as follows: Secretary of govern- 
ment and president of the cabinet, secretary of the treasury, secretary 
of education, and secretary of the interior. 

As all of the Autonomist secretaries had retired, the new cabinet 
was composed as follows: Secretary of government and president of 
the council of secretaries, Luis Mufioz Rivera; secretary of the treas- 
ury, Julian E. Blanco; secretary of justice, Juan Hernandez Lopez; 
secretary of the interior, Salvador Carbonel. These were in office on 
October 18, 1898". 

On February 6, 1899, General Henry discontinued the council of sec- 
retaries and created instead four secretaryships, viz : Secretary of state, 
secretary of the treasury, secretary of justice, and secretary of the 
interior. These officers, who were independent of each other, possessed 
ampler powers than the former secretaries, all of whom had been under 
the president of the cabinet. Three of the new secretaries were Lib- 
erals; the fourth, the secretary of the interior, was an Autonomist. 
The Autonomist party thereupon dissolved and a Republican party was 
formed, made up of adherents of the old Autonomists and Opportun- 
ists, a few Liberals, and some who had formerly belonged to no party, 
while the Liberal party, with a somewhat changed membership, is still 
in existence. 

In order to permit American customs and policy to take root in this 
island and to prepare it for tranformation into an organized Territory, 
it is desirable to set aside personal jjolitics, which is one of the inherited 
vices here. The public mind must also be disabused of the idea, still 
dominant, that the whole art of politics consists in securing power in 
order to give offices to one's friends. It has been too much the rule 
here for officeholders to neglect public interests and to blindly obey 
those who, having put them in office, can also remove them. Their 
endeavors are directed chiefly to obtaining high salaries, and they give 
little return therefor. Besides, it is necessary to instill vigor into 
municipal life by granting full local autonomy. This will accustom the 
people to act for themselves and not look to the Government for every- 
thing, as has been the case until now. 

It is especially necessary to wipe out all those inherited vices and to 
prepare the country for a real democratic regime, to suppress all abuses, 
and to install new methods of administration and government, so as to 
allow the people to take part in the control of their local affairs without 
the predominant influence of persons having only political ambitions to 
serve. 

This, it seems to me, must be done under superior supervision ; for to 
hastily abandon the island to local control unrestrained by superior 
power would, or might, result in the greatest disaster. 

In all my intercourse with the inhabitants I have endeavored, on every 
appropriate occasion, to impress upon them the fact that the time when 
territorial autonomy could be instituted and the civil power take its 
proper place as the superior of the military, depended solely upon the 
people themselves; that the people should demonstrate their capacity 
for the most important and sacred of all duties of citizenship by furnish- 



REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 11 

ing examples of towns well governed, public moneys properly expended, 
and full protection in the enjoyment of natural and lawfully acquired 
rights extended alike — to the rich and the poor, the learned and the 
ignorant, the strong and the weak. They are assured that not until the 
people of the United States could see that this had been done would 
they probably feel that there should be supplied for Puerto Eico a Ter- 
ritorial government, which in due time could be raised to the highest 
dignity of membership as a State in the American commonwealth ; that 
until the achievement of that result, Puerto Eicans should not expect 
to be vested with those higher responsibilities and privileges. 

THE PROVINCIAL DEPUTATION. 

On November 29, 1898, General Brooke ordered the discontinuance 
of an insular legislative and administrative body known by the above 
designation. 

It consisted of 32 members, chosen by the people and charged with 
several important functions of government. It is my understanding 
that it was intended by Spain that these functions were to be trans- 
ferred to the legislative assembly of the autonomical government, cre- 
ated by royal decree of November 25, 1897. 

As stated under the caption of "The former regime," the -skeleton of 
this government was set up in March, 1898, but it never really assumed 
power. 

The provincial deputation as a governing body was supported by 
revenues derived from lotteries, contributions from municipalities, the 
trade school, etc. For the year 1898-99 this revenue was estimated to 
amount to 324,592 pesos. It was charged with various branches of 
expenditure, such as administration of its own affairs, lotteries, public 
instruction, public works, subventions to railroads; orphan, insane, and 
other asylums; the reformatory and other correctional institutions, Col- 
lege of the Esculapian Fathers for Boys, Convent of the Sacred Heart 
lor Girls, schools of art and music, vaccination, and pensions. The total 
of all estimated expenses equaled the income. 

This deputation had various assets and liabilities, ail of which were, 
under General Brooke's order, required to be liquidated by the secretary 
of the treasury, Mr. Cayetano Coll y Toste, who is at present the civil 
secretary. 

Under date of July 31 the liquidator submitted a statement of the 
progress made in discharging his duties. On that date he had collected 
on account of the deputation $107,213.74 in provincial money and 
negotiable paper. He had paid out on same account 81,140.25 pesos, 
leaving a balance in his hands of 26,073.49 pesos, which consisted prin- 
cipally of negotiable paper. 

He also reported, under date of August 3, that the outstanding obli- 
gations known to him amounted to nearly 130,000 pesos. 

He submitted a schedule of assets, consisting principally of real prop- 
erty, which appeared on the books of the deputation as of value 1,246,878 
pesos, but there is no likelihood that the property would realize upon 
sale a sum nearly so large. 

The principal items of this property are certain public buildings 
with a claimed value of 1,145,000 pesos. These in any event should be 
applied by the insular government to the same or similar uses as those 
to which they are now put. 

In order that a fair valuation of this property should be made a 
board was recently appointed, consisting of one army officer, who is an 



12 REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 

expert in building construction, and three local architects, one an 
American, with orders to appraise this property. The valuation of the 
board, expressed in gold, is as follows: 

The Assembly Chambers ( Deputation Building) $72, 958. 70 

The Beneficencia 178,905.79 

The Insane asylum 63, 690. 65 

The Santnrce College for Boys 90, 715. 33 

The Chapel attached to same 12, 810. 75 

The Sacred Heart Couyeut, Santurce School for Girls 69, 158. 61 

488, 239. 83 
The deputation has some other assets, consisting of claims against unpaid 
taxes, etc., which, according to the statement of the liquidator, amount 
to ' 59,960.93 

Making a total of assets of 548, 200. 76 

Against -which is an estimated indebtedness of 78, 000. 00 

Leaving a net balance of 470, 200. 76 

There is one claim of considerable magnitude against the deputation 
brought by the Josephite Brethren, known here by the designation of 
the Padres Escolapios, a teaching order of the Catholic Church. They 
occupy one of the aforesaid buildings under a contract made several 
years since with the deputation, under which they are to receive 
upward of $1,000 per month for services rendered in conducting an 
educational institution. This claim and the accompanying papers were 
forwarded to the Secretary of War for consideration on the 10th of 
July, 1890. It is very important that the question should be speedily 
settled as to the responsibility of the insular government for the sup- 
port of this religious order. 

Another building is used as a school for the education of girls under 
the supervision of the Mothers of the Sacred Heart. This society also 
received a subvention, but the order has no claim for a continuance 
of the subsidy. The building, is valued at $69,158.61 and belongs to 
Puerto Rico. 

The final disposition of this property has not been determined; but 
when all the data respecting value is at hand the subject will be referred 
to the judicial board for an opinion and with request for advice as to the 
rights and powers of the insular government as respects the several 
equities of the municipalities on the one hand and the insular treasury 
on the other. 

It is said that two of the buildings were erected with the funds con- 
tributed by municipalities under Spanish regime, and that these town 
governments have certain rightful claims to participation in the pro- 
ceeds of sale, or to reimbursement by the insular government should 
the latter take possession of the buildings. On the other hand, the 
insular treasury is now supporting the institutions and works which 
were formerly a charge against the deputation. 

THE PRESENT REGIME. 

The military government here was administered by Maj. Gen. John 
E. Brooke, U. S. A., from October 18, 189S, until his departure near the 
close of the year, and by Maj. Gen. Gny V. Henry, U. S. V., from 
December 6, ±S9S, to the 8th of May, 1899. On the date last named I 
assumed the command. 

For a fairly full exposition of the more important orders issued by the 
several general officers who have exercised military control in Puerto 
Bico, you are referred to the paper herewith, an allocution that was 



REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 13 

recently published here. Its purpose is stated iu the first paragraph, 
aud its issuance has had, and will have, a good effect as supplying an 
exposition of the aims and policy of the temporary military government. 
Inclosed are copies of all important orders issued by the military gov- 
ernor, which give further information. 

In office were four so-called "cabinet officers," each receiving a salary 
of $6,000 iu gold per annum. One of these was the secretary of justice, 
whose authority over the judges, courts, and procedure was very great; 
and, as it resulted in a certain degree of dependence of the courts upon 
the secretary, his influence was too much extended, and not only detri- 
mental to good administration, but also opposed to those ideas of gov- 
ernment that would of necessity prevail should territorial autonomy be 
accorded to the island. The local system was an inherited one, no other 
being known. It gave to tire secretary of justice, or permitted him to 
exercise, a certain influence over the courts and justices, and even over 
the prisoners in jail, whose pardon or mitigation of punishment was 
practically regulated by him. 

It was expected that this officer would oppose any curtailment of his 
prerogatives, and it so resulted. However, after a month of discussion, 
illustration, and comparison, the secretary of justice recommended the 
discontinuance of his own office and the organization of a board that 
should advise the military governor respecting all judicial matters. 

This board is composed of three prominent Puerto Eican lawyers and 
two Americans, one of the latter being an army officer. 

After considerable delay and opposition a recommendation was pro- 
cured from the supreme court for the appointment of a board of par- 
dons and prison control, composed of three Puerto Eican s and two army 
officers. They have administered this branch of the service success- 
fully for several months. 

Mixed boards of similar composition have been appointed in charge 
of education, public works, charities, and health, and all the secretaries 
have been discontinued. 

The former department of state, with a secretary at its head, has 
been constituted a bureau, with a chief at a salary of two-fifths that 
previously allowed to the secretary. The department of the treasury 
has been reorganized as a bureau of internal revenue, with same reduc- 
tion of salary for its head officer, and a bureau of agriculture, formerly 
under the secretary of the interior, has been reorganized, its chief hav- 
ing the same salary as the other heads of bureaus. The remaining 
duties formerly committed to the interior department have been assigned 
to the boards of public works and education, and the department of 
the interior has been discontinued. 

This reorganization, except in some details, was also recommended 
by boards of eminent residents of the island, all natives. 

The three bureaus — state affairs, internal revenue, and agriculture — 
are all under the official supervision of the civil secretary, who reports 
directly to the military governor. 

In appointing members of administrative boards representatives from 
the two political parties have been selected, so as to balance partisan 
ambitions and rivalries. The army and other American members, in 
their intimate association with the natives, learn much of the latter and 
their institutions, while the Puerto Eicans learn of the new system — all 
of which is mutually advantageous and educational. 

The only alternative to this method of administration was to make 
the changes by military decree. This course was not thought to be 
wise, and the measures would have had opposition instead of support. 



14 REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 

While the so-called cabinet is discontinued, there is in its stead a non- 
salaried board of Puerto Ricans to whom are referred questions of public 
policy for opinion and recommendation, but they have no initiative or 
control. The Advisory Board has been very helpful by its advice on 
many important questions of administration, especially as respects 
relief measures necessary after the hurricane of August 8. 

But the board has not moved smoothly, as already reported to the 
Department under date of September 20, 1899. So long as no question 
of patronage was before them, their deliberations were harmonious; 
but when the board was asked to suggest the names of census super- 
visors, the three members of one political party retired and gave notice 
of renunciation of their functions. Later the subject was withdrawn 
from their consideration, and supervisors were chosen unaided by their 
counsel. Then the board resumed its functions. The incident was dis- 
couraging, as showing that it was impossible for nine distinguished 
natives of Puerto Bico to separate themselves from political considera- 
tions in taking action upon a small matter, when that matter involved 
a disposal of patronage. It also gave grounds for fear that a larger 
body — one possessed of legislative functions — would not be uncon- 
strained by party considerations in carrying on the work that would 
necessarily occupy the attention of such a body were the island 
endowed with territorial autonomy. 

In only three individual cases do Puerto Rican members of boards 
receive salaries. Two members of the prison board are members of the 
supreme court, and are paid as such ; one member of the board of public 
works, who is a civil engineer, is also the head of the agricultural bureau, 
in which position he receives a salary. 

The present organization of the personnel of the military government 
of the island is shown by the directory herewith enclosed. 

In the circular to the people of Puerto Rico, dated August 15, the 
motives actuating the military governor were stated. The process by 
which the civil government, pure and simple, could and probably would 
replace the military regime was also explained. 

POLICY OP THE MILITARY GOVERNOR. 

As might be expected, the Puerto Ricans hold very tenaciously to their 
local manners, customs, and laws, with which they are familiar. To 
carry out a reform or to institute an innovation is attended with many 
difficulties ; not so much because the public are wedded to all the old 
customs, for some of these they readity concede to be vicious, but because 
they can not understand the measures proposed as substitutes. They 
prefer to retain the old institutions and laws, even though defective, 
rather than to adopt new and unfamiliar codes, procedure, and admin- 
istration. 

It has not been easy to overcome this very natural human prejudice. 
Prom the first the course has been adopted which involved the argumen- 
twrn ad hominem, instead of the severe dictum of the military mandate. 

Almost every proposition to change or repeal a Spanish statute that 
was obnoxious to our laws and repugnant to good administration was 
at first opposed or resisted ; but this opposition was met by the citation 
of palpable defects and suggestions of a remedy. The Puerto Ricans 
would usually make some concessions, but hold to the general objection. 
A counter draft would then be offered, and this would receive attention 
and discussion. Other concessions would follow; and so far these 



REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAYIS. 15 

methods have never failed to secure the favorable recommendation of 
the most interested, best informed, and prominent Puerto Ricaus, for 
the adoption of the changes proposed. These methods have character- 
ized the administration. 

The only written instructions received for guidance of the military- 
governor are contained in General Orders, ISTo. 101, of 1S98, which, 
mutatis mutandis, was promulgated in this island by General Miles on 
July 28, 1898. The general provisions of this order were reiterated to 
the undersigned verbally by the President upon the eve of the latter's 
departure from New York to assume his present duties. The President 
also intimated his hope that it would soon be practicable to establish 
in Puerto Rico a civil government, so that the military could be relieved 
or withdrawn from the direction of civil affairs. 

The authority of the military governor of the island for issuance of 
orders changing existing laws and instituting reforms is contained in 
General Orders, ISTo. 101, above cited. 

When convinced that a change ought to be made — and no changes 
have been made until each project was most thoroughly considered 
from every point of view — effect was given to the resolution in a general 
order from headquarters. A proposition to establish a United States 
provisional court was authorized by the President before issuance of 
orders promulgating it. 

In the appendix will be found a copy of every order of importance that 
has been issued by the military governor respecting civil affairs. A few 
orders of minor importance were published only in the Official Gazette 
of the island. 

On September 9 cable instructions were received from the Secretary 
of War directing that a draft of all orders, etc., proposed for issuance 
be submitted for his approval in cases where the same would result in 
a form of government, or have a tendency thereto. 

THE POPULATION. 

Inclosed herewith are certain papers relating to population, which 
were prepared by the able civil secretary, Mr. Goll y Toste. Among 
these documents is a statement of the population from the time of dis- 
covery to date. 

The movement of population, it would appear, has been something 
like the following : 

In 1765 the population was stated by the governor to have been 
44,833. During the succeeding eighteen years the number had increased 
to 87,984, or an increase of nearly 100 per cent. In 1803 the inhabi- 
tants were reported as numbering 174,902, i. e., in nineteen years they 
had again doubled. By 1834, the total had reached over 358,000, which 
is somewhat more than double the population of 1803. By the year 
1877 it was again more than doubled. These last two periods of more 
than 100 per cent increase were thirty-one and thirty- three years, 
respectively. 

The figures also show that from 1765 to 1846 — that is, eighty-one 
years — the population had been multiplied very nearly ten times, and 
in the fifty-three following years it was again more than doubled. To 
what extent immigration aided this increase it is impossible to ascertain, 
for there is no available or accessible data on the subject. That large 
numbers arrived from foreign lands is known. Including natives of the 
Peninsula, of the Canary and Balearic Islands, of England and her 
dependencies, and the French, Corsicans, Danes, and Venezuelans resi- 



16 KEPUKT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 

dent here, there must be now on the island well on to a hundred and 
fifty thousand foreigners; but if immigration should be stopped abso- 
lutely — which is not possible — the natural increase, at a rate approximat- 
ing that shown by reports, would, in the absence of a plague or famine, 
doable the population every thirty or forty years. 

In the British West Indian Colouies there are now about 1,500,000 
negroes, and in the French, Dutch, and Danish islands 300,000 more. 
In Cuba and Santo Domingo there are another million. A large pro- 
portion of these blacks are ready to immigrate to Puerto Eico whenever 
a wage rate is paid exceeding that — say Is. per day or less — which they 
can secure in their own islands. 

In Puerto Rico but few women work in the fields, but in other islands 
they are employed as field hands, receiving about 16 to 20 cents per day 
as wages. 

The last census, that of 1897, showed that the pure- blood negroes 
here numbered but 75,821 out of a total of 800,301, while of the same 
total there weie 242,000 mulattoes. Combining the full and mixed 
bloods, and designating them as colored (the term by which they are- 
known in the States), it would appear that the pure white are in a con- 
siderable majority; and comparing both totals with the statistics of the 
year 1887 it would seem that in that decennial period the numbers of 
those denominated above as colored are not increasing in numbers, 
but instead have actually decreased. 

The numbers of pure-blood negroes and mulattoes above mentioned 
comprise the survivors and descendants of those who in 1873 were 
slaves. The number of slaves set free in the year just given was about 
31,000, and the cost to the island for their manumission is stated at 
10,996,219 pesos, all of which has been paid save 21,801 pesos. 

A census of Puerto Eico was taken in 1897, but the results were never 
published or even tabulated in full. Some of the returns have been 
available, while a portion have but just been discovered, and a small 
part are still missing, in the appendix will be found such data as are 
deemed of importance that could be extracted from these papers. They 
had never been collated before. 

The enumeration of 1887 gave the total number of inhabitants as 
800,700, of which number there could read and write, males, 57,216, 
and females, 39,681; making a total of 96,867, or 12 per cent. Those 
able to read only were reported as 14,5 13. 

It is claimed that the number that can read and write at this time 
has a considerably larger ratio to the whole population than in 1887. 

The statistics for 1887 report the number of legitimate births as 
14,847, and illegitimate as 10,947, giving a total of 25,794, or 32 per 
1,000, the percentage of legitimate births being much larger than in 
many of the islands owned by Great Britain. 

The mortality in Porto Eico was reported at the rate of 26.8 per 
1,000, which compares favorably with other countries, and is lower than 
in Madrid, St. Petersburg, Rome, Berlin, and Vienna. 

The compendium of the Eleventh United States Census shows, from 
registration returns unward of 21,000,000 population, a death rate of 
20.27 per 1,000. 

In 1888 those receiving instruction in schools were reported as num- 
bering 26,103, while those of age suitable for instruction must have been 
at least eight or ten times greater. Further data respecting education 
will be found elsewhere. 

On March 27, 1898, an election was held in Puerto Eico for delegates 
to the insular house of representatives. At this election suffrage was 



REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 17 

accorded to all males over 25 years old who did not belong to the army 
or navy or had not been convicted of crime. One hundred and eight 
thousand one hundred and ninety-two ballots appear to have been cast. 

Early in the present year the commanding general of the department 
called for reports from alcaldes that would show the number in the 
respective jurisdictions who were eligible to be chosen as members of 
the town council. Only taxpayers were eligible under the then existing 
law, whose names were included in the upper two-thirds of those classed 
as such. The number of eligibles reported was 12,231. Three small 
municipalities were not reported. 

A calculation was made by a local authority to show the number of 
electors, on the supposition that the franchise should be exercised only 
by male natives over 21 years of age who could read and write or were 
taxpayers of record. The numbers of these two classes are given as: 

Those who could read and write 28, 073 

Those who were taxpayers 26, 285 

Total 54,358 

On the 25th day of July, 1899, an election was held in Adjuntas for 
municipal officers, and the registration was made in conformity to 
General Orders, No. 112, c. s., Headquarters Department of Puerto 
Eico. 

The order imposed the following qualifications for electors: Men over 
21 years old, able to read and write, or who were taxijayers of record, 
who had been actual residents of the island for at least two years, and 
of the municipality for six months preceding the date of the election. 
The number who proved these qualifications before the board of regis- 
tration was 906, out of a population, according to the census of 1897, of 
18,505; that is, less than 5 per cent could vote under the conditions 
stated. 

There was much public interest in this election, and it is believed 
that about all who were eligible were registered. This incident indi- 
cated that in the whole island there may be approximately 45,000 who 
could vote under the conditions of the order above referred to. 

The class who can not fulfill these conditions, say 75 per cent of the 
males over 21 years of age, are usually in a state of abject poverty and 
ignorance, and are assumed to include one-fifth of the inhabitants. 

They are of the class usually called peones. This word in Spanish 
America, under old laws, defined a person who owed service to his 
creditor until the debt was paid. While those laws are obsolete, the 
condition of these poor people remains much as before. So great is 
their poverty that they are always in debt to the proprietors or mer- 
chants. They live in huts made of sticks and poles covered with 
thatches of palm leaves. A family of a dozen may be huddled together 
in one room, often with only a dirt floor. They have little food worthy 
of the name and only the most scanty clothing, while children of less 
than 7 or 8 years of age are often entirely naked. A few may own a 
machete or a hoe, but more have no worldly possessions whatever. 
Their food is fruit, and if they are wage-earners, a little rice and codfish 
in addition. 

They are without ambition and see no incentive to labor beyond the 
least that will provide the barest sustenance. 

All over the island they can be seen to-day sitting beside their ruined 
huts, thinking naught of to-morrow, making no effort to repair and 
restore their cabins nor to replant for future food. 
12558 2 



18 REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 

The remarks of Mr. Jaines Anthony Froude in his work on The 
English in the West Indies apply with fall force to these people: 

Morals in the technical sense they have none, but they can not be said to sin 
because they have no knowledge of law, and therefore they can commit no breach of 
the law. They are naked and not ashamed. They are married but not parsoned. 
The women prefer the looser tie that they may be able to lose the man if he treats 
her unkindly, yet they are not licentious. * * * The system is strange, but it 
answers. * * There is evil, but there is not the demoralizing effect of evil. 

They sin, but they sin only as animals, without shame, because there is no sense of 
doing wrong. They eat the forbidden fruit, but it brings with it no knowledge of 
the difference between good and evil. * * They are innocently happy in the 

unconsciousness of the obligations of morality. They eat, drink, sleep, and smoke, 
and do the least in the way of work they can. They have no ideas of duty, and 
therefore are not made uneasy by neglecting it. 

Between the negro and the peon there is no visible difference. It is 
hard to believe that the pale, sallow, and often emaciated beings are 
the descendants of the conquistadores who carried the flag of Spain 
to nearly all of South America, and to one- third of North America. 

One family of industrious people, such as are found all over the 
United States, contributes more to the general prosperity and wealth 
of the country than ten families of these peones. 

Among the merchant and proprietor classes there are many Span- 
iards and other foreigners, but nearly all such are actual residents of 
Puerto Rico. Among the cane growers are a few English, Americans, 
French, and Germans, but usually they are old residents. At this 
time there is but one sugar "central" being installed — this by American 
capital. All the tobacco growers and nearly all the cottee proprietors 
are natives or Spaniards. 

PUBLIC ORDER — CRIMES AND PRISONS. 

The distribution of troops has been such as to have available at all 
the centers of population ample force to repress all attempts, should 
any be made, to disturb the peace. At present the forces are located 
as follows: 

At Sun Juan. — One troop of cavalry, 6 companies of infantry, 2 batteries of artillery, 
2 companies Puerto Rico Battalion. 

At Mayaguez. — Three troops of cavalry, 1 company Puerto Rico Battalion, 1 com- 
pany of infantry. 

At Ponce. — One troop of cavalry, 3 companies of infantry, 1 company Puerto Rico 
Battalion. 

At Hnmacao. — One troop of cavalry. 

At Lares. — One company of infantry. 

At San German (subpost of Mayaguez). — One troop of cavalry. 

At Ad juntas. — One troop of cavalry. 

At Aibonito. — One troop of cavalry. 

At Cayey. — One troop of cavalry. 

At Arecibo. — One troop of cavalry. 

DETACHMENTS. 

At Las Marias. — One officer, one-half company. 

At San Sebastian. — One officer, one-half company. 

At Maricao. — One noncommissioned officer and 10 men. 

At Yauco. — One officer and 25 men. 

At Vieques. — One officer and 22 men. 

At Guayama. — Two noncommissioned officers and 12 men. 

At Caguas. — Detachment of Puerto Rico Battalion. 

At Vtuado. — Two noncommissioned officers and 8 men. 

The regular force, as will be seen, consists of one regiment of cav- 
alry, one regiment of infantry, and two batteries of artillery. The 
battalion of native Puerto Ricaus are specially useful, as they are 



REPORT OP BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 19 

acquainted with the country and the people, and speak the local lan- 
guage. They are principally employed as jail guards, and spare the 
necessity for the employment of hired guards, etc. The commanding 
officers of these guards are also the inspectors of the jails. 

There is also in the service a force of insular police of 400 men, all 
natives. They are distributed in small groups of from 5 to 10 men 
throughout the rural districts, and have been specially useful in arrest- 
ing criminals and in preserving the peace. While this organization 
bears a resemblance to the Guardia Civil of the Spaniards and has 
some analogous duties, it differs from the latter radically in that it is 
not made the instrument of oppression as the former is said to have 
been. The insular police are held to the strictest obligation to observe 
the laws and to molest no one save the criminals. All who are arrested 
by it are immediately delivered to the nearest local magistrate, by 
whom, in the formal manner, the cases are disposed of as required by 
the penal code, and the guilty punished. 

The cases of arrest are numerous. The offenses are usually personal 
assaults originating in the vendetta or they are predial larceny. Dur- 
ing the period from the landing of the American troops last July to 
the withdrawal of the Spanish forces in October there was, as might 
be expected, much disorder. The evil-disposed classes rose against the 
Spaniards, and murders, robberies, and arson were common. It is 
claimed by some that property to the value of many million dollars 
was burned, aud personal property and money in large amounts were 
seized aud carried away. This lawlessness was not stopped until the 
American troops had taken control and established garrisons in the 
most disturbed districts. 

The difficulties encountered by the United States Army in stopping 
these outrages were very great. All was strange to the officers and 
men — the country, the people, the laws, aud the language. 

Almost immediately after the signing of the peace protocol the with- 
drawal of the volunteers commenced, and, although considerable num- 
bers remained, there were cases where thoroughly efficient protection 
could not be extended owing to the difficulties above noted. The 
murderers or robbers would take refuge in the remote parts where 
there were no roads and but few trails. It was sometimes impossible 
for the troops to follow the marauders to their haunts and it was very 
difficult to apprehend the criminals. 

These conditions resulted in the creation of the insular police above 
referred to, which reports directly to the Governor-General. Their con- 
tinued maintenance for some time to come is indispensable. The annual 
cost of the force to the insular treasury is about $165,000, or a little 
more than $400 per man per annum, for services, material, and food. 
One-fourth of the whole number are mounted men. 

Spain maintained in Puerto Rico before the war a force of upward of 
4,000 regular troops, about 1,600 more than the number now in the 
island, while the Spanish guardia civil had double the strength of the 
present insular police. 

The former government, it is said, was administered with great 
rigor and the civil guards were the agents for apprehending violators 
of the laws aud of royal decrees and orders. The accounts given of 
the barbarities practiced by these men tell of a condition that is 
scarcely conceivable. The island was peaceful, but it must have been 
such a peace as exists only where the inhabitants are subjected to a 
reign of terror. 

With the departure of the Spanish forces came a swing of the pendu- 



20 REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 

lam to the opposite side. The pressure was released. The people, 
good and bad, had yet to learn and see that there could be no rule of 
order or well-being without subjection to the ordinary requirements of 
organized society. It was difficult for them to conceive of a reign of 
law without display or constant exercise of force. Obedience to law 
for the common benefit of all seemed to them incomprehensible, and 
the inculcation of this docfriue has been far from easy. But notwith- 
standing the unfavorable conditions much progress has been made, 
though the advance from day to day and from month to niomh has 
been scarcely perceptible. But comparing the past with the present 
it is not difficult to recognize the general advance and progress toward 
a greatly improved system of administration, a system that will insure 
peace and tranquillity and that will furnish a fair opportunity for the 
island to prove its capacity and to take its place as one of the well- 
governed communities of the world. 

The steps by which this result has been attained are stated in the 
circular of August 15 herewith and it is unnecessary to enumerate them 
a second time. 

In any country where more than one-half of the population is con- 
tinually on the verge of starvation or are pinched by hunger; where 
labor, when employed at all, is remunerated only to the extent of from 
twenty to thirty-five cents per day; where thousands upon thousands 
are unable to secure work at any rate ; where only 10 or 15 per cent of 
the inhabitants can read and write; where the ordinary standards of 
public morality are largely ignored ; where half the children are ille- 
gitimate; and, finally, where the functions of the government have 
been used to discourage, repress, or prevent initiative, and the people 
have no knowledge oi* any duty or obligation but to obey the orders 
of the governing classes — it would be strange if, under such condi- 
tions, murder was unknown, and pilfering, stealing, and plundering 
were uncommon. Let it be supposed that under conditions such as 
are recited a government of repression should be suddenly relaxed 
and for it another substituted, which these ignorant people have heard 
of as one under which freedom is the predominating characteristic; it 
would be still less strange if, when released from restraint, the ten- 
dency to lawlessness should greatly increase, and a reign of terror 
should take the place of a reign of oppression. 

Although General Brooke announced upon assuming command that 
the existing local laws would be enforced by hold-over officials, yet the 
latter were intimidated; and, knowing little or nothing of the laws 
and customs of the new sovereign, they were apathetic and largely 
helpless. They were overawed by the threats of the lawless, and the 
local police, if not in actual sympathy with the plunderers, were afraid 
to act. It was not until the United States troops had been generally 
distributed through these disturbed districts that the civil officers 
began to feel that they could have effective support. 

While the native Puerto Ricans welcomed the American troops, the 
resident Spaniards would naturally deplore their coming. The number 
of this latter class was large, and if to the natives of the Peninsula are 
added the emigrants from the Canary and Balearic Islands (whose 
sympathies are largely with the former Spanish administration and gov- 
ernment), the number of Spanish sympathizers would reach, perhaps, 
one-tenth of the total population of the island. There were also many 
other foreigners from the neighboring English, Frefich, and Dauish 
islands, and from Corsica, so that it is within the bounds of proba- 
bility to say that approximately one-eighth of the residents of Puerto 



REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 21 

Rico were either of foreign nationality or not in sympathy with the 
nation which by conquest had acquired the sovereignty of Puerto Rico. 

If industrial conditions change, insuring better remuneration for 
labor, and if the. local administering of the laws shall be just and uni- 
form, the state of society and public order will, it is hoped, assume 
conditions that will compare favorably with other tropical islands in 
these waters. 

The official reports from the island of Barbados for the year 1898 
show that the number of commitments in prisons and jails of that 
island aggregated 3,558, and the number committed by local magis- 
trates which resulted in conviction numbered 9.134, in a total popula- 
tion of 189,000; that is, a total of convictions of 12,07-}, which is at the 
rate of G.< per cent of the population. 

At the present time, while the condition of this island is peaceful, 
there are frequent cases ot robbery and personal assault, often result- 
ing in murder. That this crime should still be prevalent a;.d fir too 
common is not strange when we take note of the exceptional condi- 
tions that now exist, due to intensified destitution, the result of the 
destructions caused b} T the hurricane of August 8, referred to elsewhere 
in some detail. 

The statistics of crime in the island are not full or complete. So far 
as can be learned, an annual report on tins subject is not known here. 
Rules have been made that will secure from the alcaldes such rej orts 
in the future; but the frequent changes of local officials has made it 
impossible to collect data such as well-governed and well-administered 
communities render to the central government. 

Connected with each of the courts of first instance there was always 
a jail in which were, confined prisoners under sentence or awaiting trial. 
These institutions were supported from municipal expenditures. Each 
town in the district composing the jurisdiction of the court of first 
instance contributed to jail expenses in proportion to the population. 
But upon the arrival of the United States troops thesequotas of expenses 
were greatly in arrears, and as a result "the jail expenses remained 
unpaid for many months in nearly all towns. 

The condition of the jails, as regards discipline, administration, and 
sanitation was reported to be very bad indeed. If was evident that 
the municipalities in their enfeebled and often chaotic condition could 
not or would not bear the burden. As before remarked, the jails have 
been consolidated into five, and, with the penitentiary in this city, there 
are six places where malefactors may be confined. 

By order of a predecessor the whole expense of the jail support 
was assumed by the insular treasury.. The total expense of this service 
for the current fiscal year was estimated at $232,000, but as it has been 
found practicable in many cases to substitute soldiers of the Puerto Rico 
battalion for the civil guards and turnkeys the total will probably be 
brought down to about $173,000 tor the year. 

In no jail or prison had it been the practice to require any labor of 
the prisoners, either of those undergoing confinement or of those await- 
ing trial. A reform in this respect has been instituted. Shops are 
being installed in the penitentiary, where articles for use in the prisons, 
clothing for those confined, and goods for sale are being manufactured, 
thus making some approach toward self-support. Men under sentence 
are required to do work on the roads and to do police work in the towns 
and cities. The manufactured product of prison industry, consisting 
principally of clothing, is used for the insane and the orphans. 



22 REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 

THE CLERGY. 

In the insular budget for several years past there has been carried 
an item of expenditure for the support of the Catholic clergy. The 
total for each of the fiscal years 1897-98, 1898-99 was stated at 1G>,(»10 
pesos. Allowance for the priests continued at this rate until October 
18, 1898, when the sovereignty of Puerto Rico was transferred to the 
United States. Since that date no further payments have been made, 
notwithstanding claims for a continuance by the local representative of 
the Catholic Church. 

These claims are understood to be based on the treaty of Paris, and 
particularly on the second paragraph of Article V r ILI of that instru- 
ment. In further support of the claim it is asserted that for and in con- 
sideration of the stated allowance referred to above the Church, in 
1857, by agreement between the Pope and the King, relinquished in 
favor of Spain certain tithes or "first fruits of the earth," which by long 
established custom had previous to that date been enjoyed by the clergy. 

The claims preferred by the vicar capitular of Puerto Rico were, on 
June 29, 1 S99, forwarded for the action of the Secretary of War. Among 
these papers, will be found a full exposition of the claim, and also a 
copy of the concordat between the Pope and the King of Spain. 

It is very importaut to Puerto Rico that this question be speedily 
resolved. 

Almost all the inhabitants, both native and foreign, are Catholic, or 
nominally so. In every towu there are one or more churches, and in 
charge of each church there are one or more priests. 

The control actually exercised over the people by these ecciesiastica 
is only nominal. Beyond the fact that nearly all the people are bap- 
tized by the priests, that the last rites of the Church are celebrated at 
their funerals, and that such as are married at all are married by the 
priests, the visible evidences of the intiuences of the clergy are very few. 
Many thousands, perhaps hundreds of thousands, never enter a church 
save to attend a christening, a wedding, or a funeral. Until cocktighting 
was prohibited this barbarous sport was much better patronized than 
the Sunday services. Sunday schools for teaching the catechism are 
seldom held, or, if held, are not well attended. A request has been made 
by the vicar capitular to permit religious instruction of children in the 
village and rural schools during hours when the buildings are not occu- 
pied by the regular instructors, the teaching of the catechism to be 
given by the priests, and by representatives of other religions. 

There are a few Protestant churches in the island — perhaps half a 
dozen in all — the attendance being made up largely of newly arrived 
foreigners and Americans. 

While no formal claims have as yet been preferred by the representa- 
tive of the Catholic Church for restoration to the Church of certain pub- 
lic buildings and lands, it is understood that it is the intention of that 
representative to claim ownership to several valuable structures in San 
Juan and to ask for surrender to him of the property. The basis of 
these claims is understood to be that said edifices belonged originally 
to certain religious orders, but were taken possession of by Spain with- 
out good reason and held as public property, finally being transferred 
as such to the United States. Some of the most valuable lots in San 
Juan are understood to be included in this category. 



REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 23 

EDUCATION. 

Herewith is submitted the report of the board of education, in which 
the former and present conditions respecting public education are dis- 
cussed. From the census of 1887 it is learned that the number of Puerto 
Eicans who could read and write in that year were 96,867 (age limit not 
given), and in addition those who could read only (same limitation) 
were 14,513, out of a total of 806,708 of all ages. 

The proportion of inhabitants of the United States who are less 
than 10 years of age is very nearly 24.3 per cent of the whole. Assum- 
ing that this numerical relation of those less than 10 years of age is 
applicable to Puerto Rico, then there would be 610,678 in this island who 
are more than 10 years of age. 

The proportion of the inhabitants of the United States who are more 
than 10 years of age and who can not read and write is given by com- 
pendium, Eleventh Census, as 13.34 per cent. If the ratio of illiteracy 
in this island were the same as in the Union, then of the 610,678 stated 
above there would be 529,234 who could read and write. I assume that 
the 96,867 reported as so able are all over 10 years of age. The census 
records for Puerto Eico, year 1887, would indicate that of the class of 
persons, assumed to be 10 years old and upward, who have not the 
degree of education stated, there are here 514,811; or, in other words, 
of those who can not read and write there are : 

Per 100. 

In the United States 13.34 

In Porto Rico 84.14 

But, as before stated, the figures for this island are based on the cen- 
sus records of 1887, the accuracy of which can not be verified, and 
further it is assumed that all who were reported as able to read and 
write were more than 10 years of age. 

In some towns the percentage of the inhabitants having a knowledge 
of reading and writing is as low as 5, while in others it is as high as 18, 
and in one as high as 46. 

In each municipality, under the Spanish regime," was a board of edu- 
cation, and these boards are still in office. As municipal elections are 
held, new boards will be elected by the qualified electors. In more than 
one instance persons have been found serving as members of local 
boards of education who could not read or write. 

In a few towns there are some poor school buildings owned by the 
municipality, but there is not one that, as respects its construction and 
equipment, conforms to modern ideas of essentials. 

In the report of the insular board of education will be found much 
valuable data respecting a great variety of subjects cognate to educa- 
tion and social conditions, and special attention is invited to this valu- 
able paper. 

The board of education consists of two Americans and three Puerto 
Eicans, two of the latter serving gratuitously. 

The education laws of Puerto Eico were all revised and greatly 
changed shortly before the undersigned assumed his present duties. 
The revision was prepared by Mr. John Eaton, who was formerly Com- 
missioner of Education in the United States. These new school laws 
were approved and promulgated by Major General Henry, then com- 
manding the Department of Puerto Eico. 

The changes which result from the new code are very radical and 
have been subject to some complaint, but a return to the old system 
was not felt to be justified. If, considering the subject de novo, so radi- 
cal a measure would not have been adopted, but instead a procedure 



24 REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 

on the lines of gradual adaptation; for it lias been found that, in gen- 
eral, it is not the laws which cause abuses but rather their bad admin- 
istration. 

Were home rule to be uow established it is believed that the ten- 
dency would be to not only revert to the old methods, but also to dis- 
pense with the services of the Americans who are engaged in implant- 
ing the new educational system and performing most valuable work. 

The amounts carried by the insular budget under the head of "Pub- 
lic instruction," for the fiscal year 1898-99, all reduced to dollars, were: 

General budget of the islaud $54, 559. 27 

Provincial deputation, insular 35, 472. 00 

Total 90,031.27 

Besides there were municipal appropriations for educational pur- 
poses of 203, 373. 00 

Making a total for the whole island for public instruction of.. . 293, 404. 27 

For the present fiscal year the appropriations carried by the insular 

budget for education are 330, 050. 00 

And by municipal budgets 83,063.57 

Making a total of 413,113.57 

The total appropriations for all purposes of government for the last 
fiscal year were: 

General budget of the island $2, 674, 396 00 

Provincial deputation (insular) 194, 755. 73 

Municipal budgets (1897-98) 1, 618, 769. 72 

Total appropriations .■ 4, 487, 921. 84 

The current year's appropriations for all purposes are : 

General budget of the island $1, 943, 678. 11 

Municipal budgets 1,429,981.26 

Total ■. 3,373,659.37 

Therefore the ratio borne by the school appropriation to the whole 
expenditure of the island for 1898-99 is 6.53+ to 100; for 1899-1900 is 
12.24+ to 100. 

Applying this ratio of 12.24+ to 100 for 1899-1900, to the total appro- 
priation for all insular purposes for the preceding year, the total for 
schools would have risen to $549,321, a sum equal to 10.28 per cent of 
the budget for the current year; in other words, out of a revenue and 
expenditure of $1,487,921.84 counted on by Spain for 1898-99, there 
would have had to be allotted to schools the sum of $549,321.03 to 
make her allowances for this most important branch of service equal 
the proportion of revenue applied to it under the United States military 
rule. 

The Eleventh Census Compendium gives for the United States a total 
of persons of school age, 5 to 17 years, as 15,207,091 out of a population 
of 02.022,250, or very nearly 30 per cent. 

The total population for Puerto Rico for the year 1897 was given as 
890,911. If the ratio of these ages to all ages in the United States were 
applied to Puerto Rico, there should be found here over 267,000 children 
of age suitable for public instruction. 



REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 25 

It will be seen by tlie report of the board of education that the num- 
ber registered last year as attending school in Puerto Rico was: 

Boys 19,804 

Girls 9,368 

Total 29,172 

While the attendance was: 

Boys 14,720 

Girls 7,153 

Total 21,873 

Therefore but very slightly more than 8 per cent received instruction, 
leaving untaught in any way over 245,000. 

To provide schoolhouses and equipment for all schools needed would 
probably cost, for very plain accommodations, not less thau $1,500,000; 
and besides this original outlay, a further annual expenditure would 
be required of not less thau an equal sum, or at the rate of $5 per capita 
for, say, 300,000 pupils, a rate much lower than is customary in the 
United States. 

This indicates the proportions and magnitude of the task that con- 
fronts the people of Puerto Rico in their efforts to secure for the island 
a prominent place among the educated and enlightened communities of 
the world. 

In the States of the Union it is a common practice to make a general 
tax levy for the support of schools, in pursuance to a general policy 
that has been adopted by the people, speaking through their State 
legislatures. The State boards of education, therefore, are able to make 
their plans for years in advance, and know long beforehand what will 
be the amount of means available for school purposes. 

In Puerto Rico there has been no such policy pursued. About one- 
third of the revenues for schools were derived from the general treasury, 
and the remainder had to be provided by the municipalities. The 
amount was never more than sufficient to educate a few of the children, 
and this has had the result that might be expected — a small educated 
class and a large illiterate one. The educated and well-to-do are those 
who control the municipal and other government machinery. The poor 
and ignorant have but to obey, and the gulf that separates the peons 
from the ruling classes is impassable. 

In the brief period of military occupation it has not been found practi- 
cable to develop and apply a general tax law. It results, then, that all 
branches of the public service must be supported directly from the 
public treasury through allotment of means that are available. This 
year no more could be done than to apply to education a sum about 
three andahalf times larger than Spain allowed. Municipalities are in 
this way relieved of a part of the burden, as they have been entirely 
relieved of jail expenses (see chapter on public order, etc.), but the 
councils of these towns prepare their own budgets, and they have 
greatly reduced their allowances for education, averaging much more 
than half reduction, certainly not an encouraging outlook for the 
illiterate youths that swarm all over the island. 

I have quoted some general statistics of the United States respecting 
illiteracy, but considering in detail those that relate to one of our ter- 
ritorial divisions, little justification can be found for criticism of Puerto 
Rico, or indeed of her former rulers. 

On September 22, 1846, General Kearney published a code of laws for 
Few Mexico, and after four years of military rule the territory of this 



2G REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 

name was erected into a temporary government by an act of Congress. 
It has been endowed with Territoral autonomy since tllat date, 1850, 
but Congress has not yet seen tit to confer upon it full statehood. 

The first enumeration of the population of New Mexico was made in 
1850. The inhabitants are stated to have numbered 01,547. Of course 
they were all, or nearly all, natives whose tongue was Spanish. 
Although there were many wild Indians in the Territory, there was no 
enumeration of them and none of the civilized Indians until 1860, when 
the number of the latter was reported as 10,000. The Compendium of 
the Eleventh Census gives the population of New Mexico as 153,593, 
of whom 8.554 were civilized Indians. The number over i0 years of age 
who could not speak English is stated as 73,271. The whole number 
of persons less than 10 years of age is given as 44,521; therefore, those 
more than 10 years of age numbered 109,072. Since 73,271 of these 
could not speak English, it follows that but 35,801 could do so. Yet 
in the year 1890 New Mexico expended $4.66 per capita of pupils 
enrolled, who numbered 23,620. 

Data is not at hand as to the number of New Mexicans who could 
speak English in 1850, but it is safe to assume that very few indeed 
could do so. The above shows that after fifty-three years under United 
States laws only 1 person in 4 over 10 years of age could speak the 
official language of the country. How many of those ignorant of 
English could read or write Spanish is also unknown, but the number 
certainly could not be large. 

It is not a violent assumption to say that 3 out of 5 of the people 
living in New Mexico can not to day read and write any language. 
Personal knowledge of New Mexico is the justification for the state- 
ment that the native New Mexicans and Pueblo Indians are not much 
more, if at all, advanced in intelligence, wealth, and industry beyond 
the poor class in Puerto Rico. Along the valley of the Rio Grande to 
its mouth the same conditions prevail. 

THE JUDICIARY. 

The reorganization of the courts and legal procedure caused most 
concern. In Puerto Rico was found a supreme court of seven members, 
two audiencias of three members each, and, in addition, twelve courts 
of first instance and instruction. Their jurisdiction and procedure 
were complicated, and there were great difficulties and delays attend- 
ant upon criminal and civil trials. The codes of law and regulations 
in force were numerous and voluminous, and the whole system was 
un-American and strange. General Orders, No. 114, herewith, has just 
been issued, giving a basis for a new judicial system. The courts 
and their jurisdiction are projected on the usually established system 
of State courts in the American Union. It was not easy to bring this 
about, but by dint of constant efforts with full and free discussion, a 
unanimous recommendation for a departure from the old system and 
the installation of these new courts was made by the judicial board. 
But this was easier than to effect an abandonment of the Spanish pro- 
cedure. At last this was accomplished, and a general order promul- 
gated prescribing a procedure which, while in many respects not fully 
American, is a wide departure from that prevailing heretofore. 

One member of the judicial board remarked in respect to it that now 
a litigant or criminal would have a decision in four months which for- 
merly required four years. 

Under the new order of things there are still crudities, and many 



REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 27 

requirements and rules strange to American lawyers and judges, but 
one by one these will disappear, and ultimately a much more complete 
harmony of the Puerto Uican with the American system of procedure 
will come into being. 

As respects changes in the laws of the laud — the penal code, the 
civil code, the law of contracts, etc., and indeed the whole written law 
of Puerto Rico — the course pursued is one of gradual adaptation. It 
has been stated that the insular commission has written an entire code 
for this island, which is to be offered for adoption. With all deference 
to the distinguished gentlemen who compose that commission, it is 
suggested that the abitrary installation at this time of any system, no 
matter how perfect, would be most unfortunate, as tending to defeat 
the very object sought to be accomplished. 

While any code of laws drafted by Americans and officially approved 
would be respected, yet it would not be understood; it would have to 
be applied by lawyers and judges who do not understand, and who will 
not be able to understand for some time, the common law of Anglo- 
Saxon peoples. 

This was well illustrated by example here. Proceedings under the 
writ of habeas corpus were authorized, this on the recommendation of 
the then secretary of justice; but through inability to understand the 
real purpose of the writ, it has been practically a dead-letter. One case 
did arise, but an error occurred in its application. This, however, has 
been explained ; and gradually the use of this instrument for the protec- 
tion of the rights of those charged with crime will be better understood. 

The system of laws that prevail here is the outgrowth of quite a 
thousand years of human experience, and can not be struck down or 
radically changed in a day, nor yet in a year. In the administration 
of those of her colonies that were formerly under the sovereignty of 
other states, England has pursued the wise policy of respecting and 
preserving the former laws and customs. For example: British Guiana 
still has a code of laws implanted there largely by the Dutch colonists; 
so the Province of Quebec and the island of Mauritius have codes largely 
based on the ancient French- rlom an law; and many more examples 
might be cited. In our own country California still preserves in its 
laws some features of the old Spanish- Mexican code in force there at 
the time of its conquest. It is to be hoped the same practice will follow 
here, should an autonomical government be finally established for this 
island. 

The educated people of Puerto Eico — and there are many who are 
learned and highly accomplished — and the commercial and industrial 
proprietors as well as the plain people are living under a highly organ- 
ized, though complicated, system of laws and customs. They are jealous 
of their rights, and with the advent of American sovereignty they look 
for an extension of those rights. It is also true that they may not have 
a fair conception of the responsibilities that must always accompany an 
extension of privileges, but they are highly sensitive' and even jealous 
of encroachments. Great care has been observed to respect existing 
prejudices, even though such respect may not comport with the extreme 
views of some resident Americans and some at home who wish to see 
the island " Americanized," as they call it, in a day. 

The island is densely populated, there being well on to 1,000,000 
people here. It was easy to "Americanize" the sparsely settled regions 
of the West, acquired by conquest and purchase, for there society had no 
organization and there was no civilized population to be amalgamated. 

In a paper herewith, prepared by Major Sharpe, judge-advocate of 



28 REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 

the department, will be found a description of the former judicial 
organization under Spain, and in another Lnclosure — Circular from 
Headquarters Department of Puerto Rico, of August 15 — and in copies 
of general orders, also herewith, will be found considerable data 
respecting the measures put into operation for the adaptation of the 
former judiciary and its procedure to methods with which the people 
of the United States are familiar. 

Omitting details, which will be found in accompanying papers, the 
present situation may be stated as follows: 

The insular courts have been reduced in number from 15 to G; the 
number of prisons and jails from 1 penitentiary and 11 jails to 1 peni- 
tentiary and 5 jails. Each of the 69 towns still retains a municipal 
court, but on a modified and improved basis. At each town there is 
also a "lockup." 

Those who are arrested and charged with crimes have a prospect of 
speedy trial, and any criminal who feels that he is wrongly deprived of 
his liberty may, through the writ of habeas corpus, have a hearing 
before a judge, who will dispose of the matter according to the, rules 
of right and justice. 

The district courts have been in operation but a few weeks, and have 
as yet many cases on their dockets. It is hoped that within a short 
time they will be able to dispose of the accumulation of the cases turned 
over to them. One district court — that at Humacao — is reported as 
having its docket cleared up to date. This is the first; time that such a 
thing has happened in the history of the island. 

When the control of the civil affairs of the island was taken over by 
the United States on October 18, 1898, there were in the jails a very 
large number of prisoners, of whom some had been tried and many more 
were awaiting trial. Among the latter were a number of marauders, 
who had been arrested during the so-called interregnum, or shortly 
thereafter. Some of these offenders were charged with violation of 
United States statutory laws, and others were members of bandit organ- 
izations. For the trial and punishment of such offenders resort was 
had to military commissions, and a considerable number were adjudged 
guilty by such commissions. Upon approval of the proceedings by the 
commanding general they were imprisoned in the local jails, where they 
served or are serving their sentences. 

But as the military commission is an instrumentality for the enforce- 
ment of the laws of war, the use of that means of administering justice 
ceased on April 11, 1899, the date of the proclamation of the President 
announcing the termination of hostilities with Spain. 

But the trials by commissions could not be had in a great many 
other cases, where the jurisdiction lay with local courts. So slow had 
been the procedure that there had been congregated in the jails large 
numbers of malefactors that were awaiting action by the local courts, 
and had been so waiting for many months or years. Everything pos- 
sible was done to expedite these proceedings, When the witnesses had 
disappeared, or the offenders had been incarcerated for a long time, the 
accused were released by military order. 

For the trial of offenders who were charged with the violation of 
United States law — i. e., such cases as would in the United States be 
tried by the United States Federal courts — a provisional court was 
created under authority of the President. It consisted of a law judge 
and two members (the latter being army officers), with an American 
lawyer as prosecuting attorney. By this court a large number of cases 
have been disposed of and punishment has been awarded to the guilty. 





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REPORT -OF BRIGADIER-GEKERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 29 

Its procedure is that of the United States courts, aud there have been 
a few trials by jury, two in cases of capital crimes. 

The proceedings of this court are attentively observed by some of 
the local courts and lawyers as illustrative of the methods followed in 
the United States in administering justice, and of what maybe expected 
to prevail here. The local courts are: 

(1) The supreme court of appeals, consisting of six judges and a 
prosecuting attorney. It has original jurisdiction only in cases of 
impeachment of judges of lower courts. 

(2) Five district courts, consisting each of three judges and a prose- 
cuting attorney. 

(3) Sixty-nine municipal courts, one in each town in the island. 
A map is inclosed showing the five judicial districts. 

THE CURRENCY. 

As is well known, the circulating medium of Puerto Rico previous to 
American occupation was principally the provincial silver, coined at 
the mints of Madrid and Sevilla, and put in circulation in this island 
at the close of the year 1895, displacing the Mexican silver that for 
some years had been in use. The exchange was an arbitrary one, made 
at the rate of 100 Mexican to 95 Puerto Rieau, a discount of 5 per cent 
in favor of the latter. 

The provincial silver peso, which thereupon came into use, is of the 
same weight and fineness as the Spanish peso. The fractional silver, 
in denominations of 5, 10, 20, and 40 centavos, is of the same weight 
and fineness as the Spanish coins of the same denominations, and of 
the French franc and its multiples. 

All the provincial pesos appear to have been struck in 1895, while the 
fractional silver coins are of the years 1895 and 1896. There is no pro- 
vincial coinage of copper; but Spanish centavos and double centavos 
were shipped to the island and used instead. In order to identify the 
coppers for use in Puerto Rico they were usually punched, the customs 
officials forbidding the exportation of such. 

It appears that the number of provincial pesos coined was 8,300,000 
and the nominal value of fractional silver was 1,060,000 pesos, making 
a total Spanish coinage of provincial silver of 9,360,000 pesos. But the 
volume of Mexican silver to be withdrawn was overestimated, as it 
amounted to only 6,426,393 pesos. It is claimed that the amount rep- 
resented by the difference, i. e. — 2,933,607 pesos — was never put in 
circulation, but was returned to Spain during the years 1896 and 1897. 

The sum of $480,000 in gold was also sent from Spain to Puerto Rico, 
but of this amount $410,916 was returned to Spain in January and 
February, 1898, leaving in the island only $69,084 of the original 
shipment. The amount of Spanish gold now here is very small. 

Spanish copper coins to the value of 70,000 pesos were also sent to 
Puerto Rico, so that the total amount of the provincial money that 
remained in the island was as follows: 

Pesos. 

Provincial silver 6, 426. 393 

Gold 69,084 

Spanish copper centavos , 70, 000 

Total 6,565,477 

This information is taken from a paper prepared by the civil secre- 
tary, Mr. Coll y Toste, with title "Statement of amounts spent in the 
exchange of Mexican money, 1895," which appears in the appendix 
herewith. 



30 REPORT OF BRTGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 

It is impossible to ascertain more thai) approximately what is now 
the volume of the circulating- medium. Some light is thrown upon this 
by Mr. Carlos Soler, the subdirector of the Banco Espanol de Puerto 
Rico, whose letter dated August 10, 1898, will be found in the appen- 
dix, lie estimates the amount of provincial silver placed in circulation 
at 0,57(5,000 pesos and the copper at 70,000 pesos, giving a total of 
6,040,000 pesos. Disregarding the gold noted in Mr. Coll y Toste's 
statement, it would appear that Mr. ISoler's total exceeds the other by 
about 140,000 pesos. 

Kespecting the volume of this Puerto Rican coinage remaining in cir- 
culation at this time, no better information is at hand than that con- 
tained in Mr. Soler's letter, cited above. It will be seen that he places the 
silver at 5,875,000 pesos and the copper at 45,000 pesos, giving a total 
of 5,020,000 pesos. He also states that the estimated sum of 000,000 
pesos has been sent or taken out of the country by the returning 
Spanish troops and private individuals; but as this silver peso is worth 
in Puerto Eico about 20 cents more than anywhere else, it is safe to 
assume that it will all drift back here in time, and therefore it should 
be taken into account in any study of the currency of this island. 

As respects the volume of American money now circulating, it is 
impossible to furnish a satisfactory estimate. Although the army dis- 
bursements in the island have been several millions, it is believed that 
most of it has been sent back to the United States. It came usually 
in bills, a form convenient for cheap conveyance and transmission by 
post. Merchants and others wishing to remit to New York or Europe 
are in the habit of buying American currency and sending the same 
to New York in registered letters, buying there European exchange for 
such amounts as they may wish to remit to London, Paris, or Madrid. 
Bank bills are therefore at a premium over American gold, for the latter 
can only be shipped by express at much greater cost than the postage 
or registration expenses of parcels by mail. 

It is presumed to be the policy of the Government, aud the wish of 
the people of the United States, as it certainly is of the business men of 
Puerto Rico, to have American money displace the local coinage. The 
funds seut here for army disbursements should be in silver, nickel, and 
copper. As before stated, paper money soon disappears, while metallic 
money would be much more likely to make its way into general circu- 
lation and remain here. In this way the inhabitants would much more 
quickly become familiar with United States currency; but the fact 
should not be lost sight of that the peso is the money of the country 
and will so remain until it is forcibly withdrawn. 

In the present prostrated condition which affects all industries, the 
volume of Puerto Rican money, together with the bills of the Spanish 
Bank (the latter amounting to about 1,000,000 pesos) is ample for all 
needs. On August 10 there were stored in three local banks the sums 
of 2,691,500 pesos in silver and over 800,000 pesos in bills of a local bank. 

The provincial circulation being ample, it follows that the United 
States currency, which is strange to the people, is in small demand in 
commercial transactions. 

The army disbursements amount, approximately, to' $200,000 per 
month, but this money inevitably drifts to the banks and does not go 
into circulation. The estimated amount of American money now in the 
bank vaults is $253,598.08, as shown by data recently obtained from 
the cashiers. 

The only way to force American money into circulation, save arbi- 
trarily, is to withdraw the pesos, thereby creating such a deficiency as 
will result in the American money leaving the vaults. 



REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 31 

While the insular accounts axe all kept in American currency, and 
disbursements made therein, many municipalities, and almost all mer- 
chants, keep their accounts in the provincial denominations. The peso 
and centavo are still the money of the people, and no great progress 
has been made in displacing them. Our currency, having the value of 
gold, is still an article of merchandise. 

Early in the summer, when the demand for means to move the crops 
was active, the private rate of exchange of pesos for dollars was to 
the disadvantage of the latter (considering the official rate of 1.66§ as 
a standard), the ruling rate being about 1.63 for $1. But now that the 
exports have greatly fallen off, and next year's production will prob- 
ably not be half as great as this year's, the bank rate of exchange is 
reversed, and stands at about 1.68 Puerto Eicau for $1 American. 

While American money was received in private transactions for less 
than 1.66§ — the official rate of exchange— a condition of things existed 
greatly to the disadvantage of the laborers who were paid from insular 
funds. American money was available for disbursements, and, in the 
interim, when no other local coins were in general circulation, the mer- 
chant imposed rates of exchange that were most onerous. Now, how- 
ever, while the peso is at a disadvantage, there is no difficulty in 
securing pesos, pesetas, and centavos. Nevertheless, in one respect 
the result is the same; namely, that American money is kept out of 
circulation; and this seems apt to continue until Puerto Eican silver is 
withdrawn. 

This result is not likely to be soon, or indeed ever, reached without 
legislation, and the character the latter should take is obvious, namely, 
the gradual retirement of the peso by some equitable means. 

The relative value of the peso to the silver dollar — bullion value — is 
stated by the Secretary of the Treasury to be as 93.5 to 100. The 
undersigned is not advised as to the present market value of silver, but 
this is supposed to be such as to make the bullion value of the United 
States dollar about 43 cents, which would give the peso a similar value 
of about 40 cents. 

As before stated, so long as an exchange value for the peso is arbi- 
trarily fixed at 60, this provincial money will remain in the island, or 
any that finds its way to foreign countries will certainly drift back, 
unless it be melted and recoined. 

It is not seen that any good result would be had from the recoining 
of these Spanish- Puerto Eican pesos into American-Puerto Eican coin, 
unless it be the will of Congress to treat this island indefinitely as a 
possession, and to require that it shall be self-sustaining. 

If such a special coin were struck and made exchangeable at par for 
United States money, dollar for peso, the value of the latter would, of 
course, be the same as the former; but the same result would be more 
easily reached if provincial money were replaced arbitrarily by that of. 
the United States. In this case there would be no need of a special 
coin. 

The local exchange value of the peso has always been greater than 
its bullion value, and this fact was evidently recognized when an arbi- 
trary value of 60 was given it by Executive order. The fluctuations in 
exchange have been very great in the past, the peso at times approach- 
ing a value of 70 and at others falling below 60, as referred to gold. 

Were the substitution of local for national money to be decided on 
at the bullion value of the former, there would be a loss for somebody 
of nearly 60 per cent, and if this loss was placed upon the holders of 
the local money it would result in great economic and industrial disas- 



32 REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 

ter. Its effect would be so grave and so obvious that it is not conceiv- 
able that such an exchange could be approved by wise financiers. 

Suppose the amount of local money in Puerto Rico, including what 
would return here, to b<», say, 6,500,000, then the aggregate of the loss 
by such substitution would be nearly 4,000,000 pesos. 

If the substitution be made at the present official rate, the loss (should 
this island have to bear it) to Puerto Rico would approximate 2,400,000 
pesos. 

Local business irren and native officials of the military government 
have argued that it would be but just and equitable to establish a new 
official rate of exchange of 133 to 100, which would make the peso worth 
75 cents Americau money, and to effect the substitution on this basis. 
In such case the difference to be made good by Puerto Rico would be 
1,625,000 pesos. They urge that when the island shall have free trade 
with the United States the industrial development will be so great, and 
the economic conditions so much improved, that the expense of this 
change could be borne without hardships. 

If the trade conditions between this island and the United States 
remain as at present only industrial paralysis can be expected. But 
if. on the other baud, the productions of Puerto Rico can be admitted 
free into the Union there will be brought about a condition justifying 
the prediction that the island can carry and finally discharge the 
entire burden of an exchange of the present currency for the American 
on the basis of the bullion value of the peso. 

With trade conditions such as are suggested there will be a very 
great revival of business and an enormous increase in productions. 
Alter a few years for development on those lines it will not be at all 
difficult to increase internal taxation by three or four million dollars 
annually. In that case half a million a year could be applied to reim- 
bursing the National Treasury for the benefit conferred on Puerto Rico 
in giving it a currency having parity everywhere with gold. 

If there is not a revival and increase in production the island must 
remain as now, or reach a worse condition, and it will be unable to 
meet the cost of the substitution, even at 25 per cent discount. 

This all leads to the suggestion of the practicability and wisdom of 
retiring the Puerto Rican currency and replacing it with Treasury and 
national-bank notes, gold, silver, nickel, and copper coins of the Union, 
the cost of the exchange to be borne at first by the United States, 
and the indebtedness thus incurred to be wiped out gradually by the 
island in annual installments. 

In effecting remittances to the United States and to foreign countries 
the merchants are having recourse to the postal money order, for which 
the charge and costs is three-tenths of 1 per cent, while bankers' 
exchange on New York costs cme-half of 1 per cent in large sums and 
three-fourths of 1 per cent for small amounts. These postal money 
orders are here bought in pesos at the official rate of exchange and at 
home are cashed in dollars. 

The fact of the large remittances gave rise to the suspicion in some 
minds thatthe Puerto Ricanswere systematically converting into dollars 
their native silver, worth GO cents under existing orders, whereas its 
bullion value was only about 41 cents. 

It was also suggested that, as the postal orders were usually, or fre- 
quently, paid for in new pesos, the latter must be coming to the island 
from some source not legitimate. The fact was called to mind that the 
original coinage was over 9,000,000 provincial money, more than 2,500,000 
of which was afterwards returned to Spain. It was intimated that per- 



REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 



33 



haps these coins were again coining to Puerto Eico or that new pieces 
were being struck from the original dies. 

These beliefs and apprehensions have not been shared. It is scarcely- 
conceivable that Spain should have stored in her treasury for over three 
years nearly 3,000,000 of useless silver — this during a period when, it is 
understood^ Spain was herself a large borrower. Besides, it is stated 
that this surplus Puerto Eican silver was immediately recoined into 
Spanish pieces. 

That Spain should permit the use of the Puerto Eican dies in coining 
pesos to ship to this island is not believed to be possible. The gain of 
two-tenths of 1 per cent in exchange that is secured by using the postal 
service as a means of remittance in payment of balances is a sufficient 
explanation of the matter. That the coins proffered in payment of the 
orders on New York are neAv is explained by the fact that up to the 
present time there have been lying in the banks and merchants' safes 
two or three millions of Puerto Eican pesos that had never been removed 
from the original paper envelopes in which they were packed at the 
mints. 

It has recently been brought to attention that some copper coins 
of Spanish mintage were being shipped out of the country. It is 
found that all centavos so shipped were unpunched or unmarked, and 
it seems that they are worth in Spain enough more than here to justify 
their return to the Peninsula. 

Of course a continuance of this movement would strip the island of 
copper coin, but as nearly all here in circulation are punched, and 
therefore unreceivable in Spain, there is little likelihood of any exten- 
sive shipment. 

The centavo is a very important coin to the natives, especially to the 
poor, who have little use for any other money. The United States 
cent pieces are not yet in common use locally, and it is probable that 
but a few thousand are in circulation in the island. 

TRADE STATISTICS, ETC. 

The value of the three principal exports for the calendar years 1895, 
1896, and 1897 were as follows, in j)esos : 



Tear. 


Coffee. 


Tobacco. 


Sugar and 
molasses. 


1895 


9, 492, 212 
13, 864, 340 
•12, 222, 599 


698, 225 

422, 912 

1, 194, 318 


4, 606, 540 


1896 


4. 246, 104 




4,411,518 









Total 


35, 579, 151 


2, 315, 455 


13, 264, 162 


. 





or a total for three years of 51,158,768 pesos, and an average of 
17,052,922 per annum, which was but slightly above the mean of the 
three previous years. 

The exports to Spain during the years of 1895, 1896, and 1897 were 
as follows, in pesos : 



Tear. 


Coffee. 


Tobacco. 


Sugar and 
molasses. 


1895 


2, 302, 220 

3, 869, 632 
3, 563, 920 


262, 093 
237, 012 
141, 720 


395,123 


1896 


1, 318, 319 


1897 


1, 272, 884 






Total 


9, 735, 772 


640, 825 


2, 986, 326 







or a total in three years of 13,362,923, and an average of 4,454,307 pesos. 
12558 3 



34 REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 

The exportation to Cuba during the same triennial period was valued, 
in pesos, as follows: 



Year. Coffee. Tobacco. 



1895 3,382,719 411,565 

1896 3, 674, 288 128, 483 

1S97 2, 048, 5C3 , 990, 808 

Total .' 9,105,570 ' 1,530,856 



or a total of 10,036,426 pesos, and an average of 3,545,475 pesos per 
annum. 

Combining the exportation to the Peninsula with that to Cuba, a 
total is given of 23,999,349 pesos, or a yearly mean of 7,999,783 pesos. 

Therefore very nearly one-half the aggregate value of those three 
Puerto Eieau staple products found a market in countries the doors of 
which have been practically closed to this island since the American 
occupation. The remainder of the coffee and tobacco found markets in 
France, Germany, England, and Italy, wliile nearly all the sugar went 
to the United States. 

American sovereignty for Puerto Eico has so far been disastrous to 
its commerce, for it has deprived the island of markets where were sold 
nearly one-half of its total output. It is true that some slight com- 
mercial benefit has resulted from the change of natiouality, consider- 
ing that import duties have been lowered and export duties abolished, 
but, no matter what be the rate of taxation on imports, the conces- 
sion is of little value while the power of purchase is taken away. 
The true measure of the purchasing capacity of all nonmanufacturiug 
countries is their capacity to produce and send to market their home 
productions. 

Jf the present trade conditions are to continue it is not difficult to 
foretell the future of Puerto Eico. At the present time there is but one 
new sugar mill being erected, and those who are investing their capital 
in this enterprise — Americans — are doing so because they believe that 
sugar will soon be admitted free into the United States. But for this 
belief the enterprise would not Lave been undertaken. I am not in 
possession of data giving the number of existing cane mills; I presume 
the number would reach 300, but the ruins of many such structures 
can be seen here and there, abandoned because the owner could not 
afford to improve his machinery — in other words, abandoned or idle — 
because the business does not pay. 

The sugar export of tbe island has fallen from a total of 170,000 tons in 
1879 to 57,000 tons in 1897. On the basis of the ruling price of sugar 
that prevailed here during the years 1895-1899, inclusive, about 2 cents 
per pound, no new mill will be erected; and as the old ones get beyond 
economical repair they will be abandoned and the cane lands pertaining 
thereto will be used only to pasture cattle. 

The average export of sugar for 1897 and 1898 was about 4,000,000 
pesos ; that for this year will be about the same, and next year's crop 
will not exceed this figure, supposing that all the mills grind; but if 
those that have been leveled with the ground or greatly damaged by 
the recent hurricane are not repaired and reestablished the crop will 
hardly exceed 3,000,000 pesos in value. 



REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 

Puerto Eico imports and exports, 1890 to 1897. 
[In provincial currency.] 



35 



Tear. 


Imports. 


Exports. 


Excess im- 
ports over 
exports. 


Excess ex- 
ports over 
imports. 


1890 


18, 230, 385 

16, 864, 764 

17, 081, 610 
17, 320, 454 
19, 778, 587 

17, 446, 065 

18, 995, 793 
17, 858, 063 


10,710,519 
9, 885, 999 
16,076,312 

16, 745, 393 

17, 295, 536 
15, 798, 590 
19, 000, 663 

18, 574, 618 


7,519.866 
6, 978, 765 
1, 005, 298 
575, 061 
2, 483. 051 
1,647,475 




1891 

1892 




1893 

1894 

1895 

1896 

1897 


4,870 
716 555 








Total 


143, 575, 721 


124. 087, 630 


20, 209, 516 721, 425 



From the foregoing it will be seen that the average exports for eight 
years have been 15,510,953 pesos and the average imports 17,946,965 
pesos, or an excess of imports over exports of 2,436,012 pesos; also 
that during the years 1896 and 1897 the balance was the other way, or 
in favor of exports by a little more than 720,000 pesos in the two years. 



AGRICULTURE AND ITS DEVELOPMENT. 

The superficies of the island of Puerto Eico is stated at 3,668 square 
miles, which is the equivalent of 2,347,520 acres, but the Spanish sta- 
tistics give this as 2,090,181 cuerdas, which is equal to 2,100,632 acres. 

The area under some kind of culture is given in same statistics as 
298,825 cuerdas; the area in pasture at 1,127,086 cuerdas, and the area 
barren or in woods an4 swamp at 664,270 cuerdas. 

The lands now devoted to some kind of culture are stated in cuerdas 
as follows: Cane, 61,556; coffee, 122,358; tobacco, 4,227 ; maize, beans, 
and rice, 93,508; native fruits, 1 7,176. It follows, therefore, that three- 
fourths of all the land are either in pasture or wholly unimproved. 

Much of the pasture land has in the past been cultivated in cane, and 
much more might be on a basis of 3£ cents per pound for sugar. Not 
one-fourth of the land adapted to coffee is now devoted to that berry. 

The area applicable to tobacco is very much larger than now utilized. 
The quality of this product can be very greatly improved. 

The domestic animals, as given in last statistical reports, 1897, num- 
ber as follows: Horses, 67,751; mules, 4,467; donkeys, 717; bovine 
animals, 303,612; sheep, 2,055; goats, 5,779, and swine", 13,441. Their 
aggregate value is stated at 8,300,736 pesos. 

The value of the laud, as returned for taxation by its owners, was 
48,694,584 pesos; but this is believed to be far below its real value. 
This appraisal takes no account of buildings, which represent a large 
additional sum. 

It is safe to say that the agricultural wealth of the island, including 
cattle, is considerably above 100,000,000 pesos. 

The soil and climate favor the cultivation of many tropical products, 
such as bananas, plantains, etc., not now grown for export. Other 
West India islands now supply 30,000,000 bunches of bananas annu- 
ally, and their land is no better adapted to the growing of this fruit 
than is that of Puerto Eico. 

Oranges, limes, and pineapples, all of excellent quality, may be pro- 
duced for export. At present these are grown here only for home con- 
sumption. Sisal hemp may be produced here as well as in Yucatan 



36 REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 

and the Bahamas. Cacao rivaling that from Venezuela is grown, but 
not in sufficient quantities to supply local needs, although the area 
adapted to it is very extensive. 

The demand for and price of gum caoutchouc is increasing rapidly 
throughout the tropics, while trees of a size suitable for yielding the 
gum are being rapidly destroyed by the tapping that the trunk must 
undergo in order that the gum may be obtained. 

Experiments for producing this material from twigs and shoots by 
grinding the small branches, extracting and evaporating the juice, as 
is done with sugar cane, is said to have resulted successfully in Mexico. 
Should the full reports of these experiments bear out the advance state- 
ments, there should be no delay in an experimental planting of the india 
rubber tree, and if the results justify it a new and very valuable product 
may be added to those already supplied by Puerto Eico. 

There are many other productions of the tropics that may be fouud 
adapted to this climate and soil, and every effort should be made to 
discover the most suitable so as to diversify production. 

The entire industrial future of the island depends on agriculture; it 
has, and can have, no other reliance, and this fact must never be over- 
looked in considering any measures with a view to the development of 
its wealth. 

There is a superabundance of labor here; no other West India island 
except Barbados is so densely populated. But labor is increasing- 
much more rapidly than the capacity of the island to employ it, and 
the natural consequence is low wages. 

In any country where labor is rewarded by compensation of but 
about 20 or 30 cents per day, the prospect of speedily reaching a high 
state of civilization and industry must not be expected. The wage 
rate throughout nearly all Spanish speaking American territory is not 
above the figures given. In the British, French, Dutch, and Danish 
West Indies, the laborer receives only from 16 to 25 cents per day for 
his services. In Brazil, whence comes over 70 per cent of the world's 
coffee supply, the cost of labor is but about 10 to 15 cents per day. If 
higher rates than now are ever paid here it will only be when better 
prices are obtained for home productions. 

So great is the bounty of nature here that the inhabitants can live — 
that is, exist — without any remuneration. Work not being a neces- 
sity, therefore, the present incentive to labor is so small that it seems 
to matter little to the average peon whether or not he is employed at 
all. On the other hand, if wages were to be largely increased, there 
would come hordes of immigrants from neighboring islands to share 
the benefit unless this was prevented by the adoption of restrictive 
measures. 

SUGAR. 

Better rates of labor than now prevail can not be expected until 
there is an advance in the price of the principal products. Were the 
sugar planter now confronted with the necessity of paying 50 cents in 
gold per day for field and mill hands — a result which is looked for to 
follow free trade with the United States — nearly all sugar estates would 
have to be abandoned. Last year sugar polarizing 96° netted the pro- 
ducer but just about 2-J cents per pound, American money. This year 
the net returns are slightly better, but the duty paid on sugar imported 
into the United Slates is burdened with a tax of 1.(385 cents the pound 
on polariscope test of 90°. Could this tax be abated the producer 
would receive this year nearly 4i cents per pound and wages of 50 cents 
or more could be paid. 



REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAYIS. 37 

l Twenty years ago the area under sugar was much greater than now. 
One can see, all over the island lowlands, the ruins of old mills, proper- 
ties that have been abandoned to pasturage because the cultivation of 
cane and the manufacture of sugar with the primitive "Jamaica train" 
was no longer remunerative, and capital for installation of modern 
plauts was not available. \This condition, which prevails all over the 
West Indies, has brought/ about in many of the islands a state of 
industrial prostration. 

In 1878 the number of sugar estates that had been abandoned 
because no longer remunerative amounted to 138, and 505 yet remained 
under cultivation. About this time the establishment of "central" 
factories commenced, and in 1880 there were five such establishments 
where cane was ground for several estates. In October of last year 
the number of planters had dwindled to 2,497. There were 22 factories 
where cane was ground for more than one farmer. 

The maximum value of the sugar produced in Puerto Eico was in 1878, 
when the reported export (83,000 tons) was valued at 7,487,211 pesos. 
The maximum volume of the island's sugar export was in 1879, amount- 
ing to 170,000 tons, upon which there was paid an export tax of 313,000 
pesos. No such tax had previously existed. It was continued at the 
same rate (about one-fifth of a cent per kilo) until 1888, when it was 
abolished altogether. Sugar production, however, still continued to 
decline after 1879 until, in 1893, it reached a minimum, the export of 
that year being only 47,000 tons. It is interesting to note that there 
were only three years between 1850 and 1880 when the quantity exported 
fell below this minimum. Since 1893 there has been an increase, the 
average for the last four years being about 55,000 tons. 

The output of sugar for 1899 will, it is estimated, approximate 60,000 
tons, grown on as many acres. I am without data as to the extent of land 
in Puerto Eico adapted to cane culture, but it must be one-fourth of the_ 
whole, or about 500,000 acres.^) To what extent the sugar production^/ 
may be increased can be estimated when it is remembered that last - 
year the island of Mauritius, with a total area of 708 square miles, or 
less than 500,000 acres, exported 180,000 tons of sugar. The population 
of Mauritius is only about one sixth that of Puerto Eico, its area less 
than one-fifth, and its topographical features similar. 

Barbados, with an area of 166 square ciles and a population of about 
185,000, in 1897 exported over 58,000 tons of sugar, 36,000 puncheons 
of molasses, and 14,000 gallons of rum— a total output of cane products 
considerably exceeding Puerto Eico's. 

Supposing the wish of the cane grower and sugar exporter for free 
trade with the United States to be realized, what will be the effect upon 
those hundreds of thousands of inhabitants whose labor must be utilized 
to produce this sugar'? Bearing in mind that for all purposes there is 
required nearly one laborer per acre of cane, it is easy to estimate the 
number of peones that will be needed. 

Sugar can be most profitably produced only by means of large central . 
establishments, the larger and more perfect the plant and the greater the 
acreage tributary to it the better the profits. To install a "central," 
capable of producing 5,000 tons annually, an investment of quite $500,000 
is required. The tendency is for the great manufacturers to secure con- 
trol of adjacent cane lands within a radius of several miles, either by 
purchase or lease. The cane grown on land not thus controlled is 
ground on a basis of commission or shares. The best cane produces 10 
or 12 per cent of sugar; the owners of the " central" allow the farmer, 
say, half of this amount. The small proprietors are disappearing, for the 
capitalist so manages his business in Puerto Eico and nearly everywhere 



38 REPORT OF BRIGADIER -GENERAL GEO. W. DAYIS. 

else as to force the small proprietors to sell their holdings. The 
tendency in the sugar business, as in all other requiring large aggrega- 
tions of capital, is to combine or consolidate. While the population is 
steadily increasing, the number of small proprietors is steadily decreas- 
ing, as shown by statistics adverted to above. 

In producing coffee and tobacco the necessities or advantages of com- 
bination are not so urgent, but since sugar can not be produced at a 
profit without large concentrated investments, it is only through com- 
bines and trusts that the best commercial success will be attained. 
Should the development of the cane industry in Puerto Eico approxi- 
mate that achieved in Mauritius, Barbados, and Hawaii, the cane 
lands will be ultimately owned or practically controlled by these huge 
" central" proprietors. There will be a few thousand owners, managers, 
overseers, clerks, etc., and many hundreds of thousands of peon labor- 
ers, whose social and, if we may judge by numerous examples in other 
countries, industrial conditions will be the same as now, and without 
hope of improvement. 

Nowhere in the world, save in the United States and Hawaii, is sugar 
now extensively produced on a basis of a wage rate for field and mill 
hands exceeding, say, 30 cents per diem, and in many tropical countries 
the rate is not above 20 cents. 

Considering the world's enormous acreage suitable to cane culti- 
vation and the teeming population available, it is probable, indeed 
almost certain, that, whatever be the price at which sugar may be. sold, 
the peon will still remain in a state of serfdom, and generation after 
generation, living in fief to a merchant monopoly, will be able to earn 
only the wherewithal to indulge in drink, debauchery, and vice. Some 
of the most instructively warning pages in West Indian history deal 
with these diverse interests of the population. 

This is a gloomy picture, but, turn it how we will, no brighter side 
appears for the swarming hordes of human beings who now exist here, 
and who will increase and multiply indefinitely. 

Yet the country will increase in wealth, trade will flourish, roads will 
be made, public buildings will rise, harbors will be enlarged, vessels in 
increasing numbers will be freighted with riches, and the wealth of 
nations will go on augmenting. Such appear to be everywhere the 
inevitable tendencies of modern industrial and commercial development. 

Notwithstanding these gloomy reflections, it is hoped that the inhab- 
itants of this beautiful and rich tropical island may have a better lot in 
store. If the legislation for Puerto Eico is wise and if an extension of 
commercial privileges to the sugar grower is conditioned upon an obli- 
gation on the part of the proprietors to ameliorate the condition of their 
employees, to provide near-by schools for children, hospitals for the sick, 
and asylums for the old and infirm, an example may be given that will 
be unique in the history of government of tropical lands. 

COFFEE. 

The exports and unit value of Puerto Eican coffee for the first year of 
each decade have been as follows : 



Tear. 


Pounds. 


Value per 
pound. 


1850 


11; 783, 684 
15, 929, 524 
17, 416, 762 
48, 032, 296 
43, 822, 794 
51,710,997 


Gentavog. 


1860 


6 


1870 


6 


1880 


6 37 


1890 


12.22 
°3 63 


1897 







REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAYIS. 39 

The year 1897 is the last for which these statistics have been pub- 
lished. Lower down in this report will be found such data respecting 
exports during the American occupation as could be collected. From 
this it will be seen that the average selling value here of the different 
grades of coffee since the American occupation has not exceeded 9 cents, 
gold, per pound. There will also be found some statistics respecting 
the comparative quantities and values of the three principal Puerto 
Eican exports. 

It will not escape your observation that the value of the coffee crop 
exported is two and two-thirds times as great as that of the sugar, and 
was nearly seven-tenths of the value of all the exports of the island 
during the three years, 1895-1897. It will be noticed that more than half 
of all the coffee sent out of the island went to Cuba and Spain, markets 
that are now practically lost to this island. 1 Had former prices been 
maintained this loss of more than half of the markets would have been 
of no moment, but with the closing of the doors to this staple came the 
very great fall in price, due probably in a large degree to the phenome- 
nally heavy export from Brazil and other coffee-producing countries. 
Nevertheless, had the same trade relations existed between this island 
and Cuba that formerly existed, Puerto Eico would certainly have 
enjoyed some advantage from her favorable and convenient situation for 
supplying the needs of her near neighbor. And this deprivation has 
seemed the harder to Puerto Eico because both islands were under the 
American flag. As a result, Cuban needs have been met by importa- 
tions from Brazil by way of the United States, involving a voyage of 
more than 4,000 miles and two rehandlings, whereas this island would 
have sent its coffee direct to Cuba, a voyage of but one-fourth or one- fifth 
as long, and without rehandling, but it was and is shut out from its old 
established market with an import tax of 5.5 cents (gold) per pound, or 
over 9 ceutavos to the pound. 

Although the Puerto Eican berry is much more highly esteemed by 
many coffee users than the product of Brazil, it is unknown in the 
United States, and can not now be sold there at a price which would net 
the producer more than 4 or 5 cents per pound. In 1897 the exporta- 
tions of coffee hence to the United States did not reach 110,000 pounds of 
the total export of 23,505,000 pounds. Of this last amount Spain con- 
sumed nearly 17,000,000 pounds, a fact that points clearly to the great 
desirability of establishing such trade relations with Spain as might 
permit freer commercial intercourse than now. But in any event it is not 
believed that the output of coffee will be largely increased. It does not 
seem probable that the high prices of 1898-97 can be maintained. New 
York, Hamburg, and Havre fix the prices, and since Brazil, Central and 
South America, Mexico, and the Islands of the Pacific can produce coffee 
in vast quantities and market the same at 5 cents per pound, this island 
must expect to adjust its prices accordingly. Ten centavos per pound 
is about all the producer can expect to receive for this product, unless 
Puerto Eican coffee should become well known in the United States and 
so much preferred to other grades as to put it on a level with Mocha and 
so-called Java. If the export keeps to the average since 1892, bringing 
annually to Puerto Eico from 10,000,000 to 14,000,000 pesos, the island 
will be fortunate. 

On the basis of the present price of coffee the value of a normal 
crop will not exceed three-fourths of that of 1897, or, say, 8,000,000 

ir riiis was written before receipt of advices changing the Cuban duties on Puerto 
Rican coffee. 



40 REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 

pesos; but by the storm fully two-thirds of the coffee trees are either 
uprooted and destroyed or else stripped of leaf and berry. 

There is no likelihood that next winter's picking will save aiore than 
one-third of a normal crop, which, at the reduced price, will not sell for 
more than 3,000,000 pesos. Five years must elapse before the coffee 
trees and their necessary shade can be renewed so that the growers can 
resume the average production. Unless some new market for tobacco 
is found that product may be hereafter disregarded as an export for 
the reason stated in notes on its production. 

Therefore the showing for next crop of sugar and coffee — all that 
Puerto Rico has to sell— is sugar, 3,000,000 to 4,000,000 pesos, and coffee, 
3,000,000, or a possible total of 7,000,000 pesos, which is about one- third 
of the annual export. 

TOBACCO. 

The product of this island third in importance is tobacco, of which 
the exports and local value in the first year of each decade have been 
as follows: 



Year. 


Pounds. 


Value per 
pound. 


1850 


2, 973, 308 

2, 557, 448 

5, 950, 322 
12, 188, 517 

3, 977. 987 

6, 255, 953 


Cents. 
4 


1860 : 


4.43 


1870 


i 


18S0 


6 81 


1890 


14.81 


1897 


19.09 







The year 1897 is the last for which statistics have been published. 
It is noticed as relevant that the records show that the value has 
remained about the same — i. e., from 19 to 21 cents per pound, since 
1892. 

As respects the quality or grade of tobacco there are several 
kinds, as in many other countries. The cheapest is known locally as 
" baliche," which is only marketed in Europe and is worth from 4 to 
4 J cents per pound. The portion so graded is not more than one-fourth 
or one- third of the total crop. Of the remainder, about 1,000,000 
pounds, more or less, is manufactured into cigars and cigarettes and is 
consumed locally. The more valuable grades arc known to the trade 
as " filler and wrapper," and the aggregate of this grade of a normal 
crop would reach quite 4,000,000 pounds. In 1897 all this grade of 
tobacco went to Cuba and brought, on an average, from 15 to 20 cents 
per pound. But the prohibitive duty on tobacco imported into that 
island of $5 per pound has sealed the door to further business, and as 
there is no market for it in Europe, and taxes in the United States are 
all the way from 35 cents to $1.85, it results that there is no foreign 
market at all for the better grades. 

When the Cuban tax went into effect last January the fact was at 
once known, and last spring not more than one-third of a normal crop 
was planted; hence there is a comparatively small quantity now in 
store. This is the surplus of the last two crops, and may reach 1 ,500,000 
pounds, but there are few buyers. Unless the United States or Cuban 
market is open to Puerto Eico, this stock must remain stored until 
finally worked up here, and future planting must be diminished until 
supply and local demand adjust themselves. This means the cutting 
off of a source of revenue that has in the past brought to Puerto Rico 
an annual income of from 500,000 to 1,250,000 pesos. 



REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 41 

Were the United States tax abated outright the production would 
rapidly increase, and might in two or three years be expected to reach 
a total of -$5,000,000, for with improved methods of culture and prepa- 
ration for market it will bring much better prices. 

PUBLIC PROPERTY. 

Elsewhere in this report are references to some of the public build- 
ings in San Juan. Besides those belonging to the extinct provincial 
deputation there are many others — some civil, and many of a military 
character. 

In the report of the evacuation committee records are schedules of 
land and buildings transferred to the United States, and a repetition 
is unnecessary, as these records are in the War Department. 

The city of San Juan is built upon a small island of the same name, 
about 3 miles long and from one-fourth to one-half mile wide. About 
one-half or two-thirds of its area was held as military lands by Spain 
and, as royal property, was transferred to the United States. Much 
of the area is occupied by works of defense and, it is supposed, will 
continue so to be ; but a considerable area does not seem to be needed 
for defensive purposes and could well be sold for city extension, for 
which it is greatly needed. 

A part of the wall of defense that surrounded the city was demol- 
ished two or three years since, and more of these old walls might well be 
demolished, inasmuch as they add nothing to the strength of the 
defenses and occupy valuable land. 

By royal decree, promulgated some two or three years ago, a portion 
of these military lands was ordered to be sold or given to the city, but 
the project was never consummated. 

Within the borders of San Juan are some hundreds of acres of swamp 
land, a part of which could easily be reclaimed by dredging and filling. 
The area thus gained would be very valuable for commercial and naval 
purposes, and the dredging, which would be comparatively inexpensive, 
would add a very valuable area to the harbor. 

At Cayey, Aibonito, Ponce, Mayaguez, and Aguadilla are military 
reservations occupied by barracks that were transferred by Spain to 
the United States and that are now occupied by troops. The area of 
these lands does not exceed in the aggregate 150 acres, which is entirely 
too small to meet the military necessities. 

By Executive order a very valuable portion of the water front of San 
Juan, 2,400 feet frontage and extending three-fourths of the way across 
the island of San Juan, was proclaimed a naval reservation on March 
29, 1899. A portion of this area is swamp and reclaimed land, and 
some 40 acres is high ground, much of it already owned by private par- 
ties and occupied by their dwellings. To obtain title to this land will 
involve a large expenditure, and the appropriation of so large a part of 
the present inadequate water front will be a very severe detriment to 
the city and an obstacle to its commercial development and growth. 

In the appendix will be fouud a schedule of the agricultural and wild 
lands that are the property of the State. This is known to be only a 
partial list, but it is not now practicable to make a complete one. Some 
of this land has never been in private ownership, while the title to 
other areas has been derived from tax sales. The total is about 120,000 
cuerdas or acres. The swamp lands, denominated here manglares, are 
along the coast, and valueless until they shall be reclaimed. 

In all Spanish countries the title to mineral found beneath the sur- 



42 REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 

face is in the State, even though the soil belongs to an individual. 
Therefore it is that on this island a mine may be denounced, taken up, 
and exploited, though it is situated within the farm or pasture of a 
planter. The law sanctions this procedure, and is understood to be 
the same in all Latin countries. 

Under the old regime there was very little attention paid to mining. 
The placer washings in Puerto Eico were long since worked out and 
there has been no development of deep workings, but with the arrival 
of Americans a great impetus was given to this speculative industry, 
and several mines have been denounced in pursuance of the existing 
laws, which are all of Spanish origin. My predecessor, acting within 
the local statutes, conferred several mining titles. An investigation 
convinced me that a continuance of this practice was inexpedient, 
though strictly legal, and some time since and to date all similar 
applications have been denied. 

At this time there is no operated mine in the island, but there are 
large iron deposits that are represented to be valuable. 

No public lands have been sold since the military occupation com- 
menced, but a title was completed to one small tract whereon the pay- 
ment of purchase money had been made some months since. 

The need of a geodetic, geological, and topographical survey of the 
island is very urgent, and should be undertaken without delay. All 
the existing maps are very unreliable, but local funds for these objects 
are not available. 

A tabulated statement giving information concerning mining claims 
is in the appendix. 

FRANCHISES AND PRIVILEGES. 

The Executive order dated December 22, 1898, forbade the granting 
of any franchise, grant, or concession for any public work without the 
authorization of the Secretary of War, and later the opinion of the 
Attorney-General was communicated to the effect that no franchise for 
public works could be granted until Congress should, by appropriate 
legislation, so authorize. 

Although there have been many applications for these privileges, 
all have been denied. They relate to various objects, such as the con- 
struction of railroads and trolley lines, the building of wharves, the 
utilization of water power, the establishment of electric-light plants, etc. 

In two instances certain works useful to the people have been author- 
ized under license revocable at the will of the Secretary of War. One 
case was the construction of a wooden wharf in the harbor of San Juan 
by a steamship company. The license contains a clause that permits 
the insular government to at any time acquire title to the wharf by 
payment of its value. The valuation, it is provided, shall be made 
by a board and shall in no case exceed in amount the original cost 
as ascertained during construction by the United States supervising 
engineer. 

The other license permits a private party to erect a sawmill and 
wood- working plant upon a vacant lot in the city of San Juan. This 
lot was ceded to the United States by Spain and is in effect a military 
reservation. There was at the time no such mill in San Juan, and the 
installation of one will be very beneficial to the United States and to 
civilians. 

The granting of three other revocable licenses have been recom- 
mended, namely: 

(1) A license for the extension and improvement of a tramway, and 



REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 43 

for changing its motive power to electricity. This tramway was con- 
structed many years ago under Spanish authority. 

(2) A license permitting a large sugar factory to lay some 300 feet of 
track along the margin of a public highway with a view of conveying 
cane to the mill. American capital to the extent of over a million dol- 
lars is being invested in this enterprise. 

(3) A license for the utilization 'of a water power, the temporary 
privilege to be auctioned. 

These are the only licenses that have been recommended. 

Some grants for public or quasi public improvements were confirmed 
under the local laws during the Spanish regime. About a half dozen 
railroad projects were thus sanctioned. The most important is a road 
intended to encircle the island near the coast, and to have a total 
length of some 338 miles, of which 132 have been constructed. To this 
road the Government guaranteed 8 per cent interest on a cost previously 
fixed and determined. The total sum to which the guaranty was 
intended to apply was nearly 10,000,000 pesos, and of course the inter- 
est guaranteed would be nearly 800,000 pesos annually; but the com- 
pany failed to complete the road within the time limit, and its status 
and rights under the original franchise are now undetermined. The 
company is operating the portion completed, the damages caused by the 
August hurricane having been repaired in principal part. 

There extends from San Juan to a suburban town, 7 miles away, a 
tramway that has recently been acquired by an American company 
now operating it. Its franchise has about forty years to run. There is 
no subsidy allowed, nor is there any guaranty of earnings. 

Another tramway extends from San Juan Harbor front, at Oatano, to 
Bayamon, a distance of 4 miles. It receives no guaranty or bonus. 

There are two other grants for railroads known to be in existence. 
One road was never built, and the other, some 17 kilometers long," was 
so seriously damaged by the recent storm that its service has not been 
reestablished. I believe there are a few more outstanding grants, but 
they are not of great moment. 

It is of the utmost importance for the industrial development of the 
island that someway should be quickly found by means of which public 
improvements can be undertaken by foreign capital. Capitalists can 
not now invest under any satisfactory conditions, for there is no author- 
ity in Puerto Rico that can confer corporate rights and authority upon 
associated capital applied to the building of roads and to the installa- 
tion of manufactories. 

The local laws respecting the development of natural resources and 
the establishment of industrial manufacturing works are ample and not 
without merit, but at present these statutes are practically a dead letter 
so far as new enterprises are concerned. It is recommended that this 
condition of things be changed at the earliest possible date. 

PUBLIC WORKS. 

The only works of public utility that are constructed in Puerto Eico 
through direct expenditure of the Government and under its immediate 
control are the fortifications, the barracks, the light-houses, and the 
military roads. The funds to pay for these undertakings were, all 
derived from local taxation. So it may be said that whatever exists 
in the way of forts, buildings, roads, etc., has been paid for by Puerto 
Eico. 



44 REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 

The fortifications of San Juan are important and must Lave cost 
several millions; their extent and character, however, are not pertinent 
to this report. At Ponce and Mayag'uez are some valueless redoubts or 
small forts. 

The island coast is very well lighted indeed. There are thirteen lights 
in good condition, and they serve their purposes well. One new light is 
just being completed on Vieques Island and another is building on Mona 
Island. Both will be completed during the current fiscal year, making 
fifteen in all — enough for all present needs of commerce. 

The harbors of San Juan and Ponce are fairly well buoyed, but 
improvements are required, for which the budget contains an allot- 
ment. A few range beacons are also necessary. 

The military roads in the island are very valuable, but the need for 
their extension is most urgent. In no country in the temperate zone is 
this necessity half so imperative as here. Without them industrial 
development is impossible. 

Two- wheeled ox carts, pack horses, and mules comprise almost the 
only means of transportation. There is not a four-wheeled vehicle used 
by natives in the island for freighting or drayage purposes. For per- 
sonal conveyance light icarriages are used. 

The one great crop o the island, the haulage of which is considera- 
ble, is sugar and sugar cane. The tonnage of coffee and tobacco is 
inconsiderable. and good country roads will suffice to fetch them to the 
seacoast. But in the sugar districts good metalled roads are indispen- 
sable. A few through lines of a permanent, substantial character are 
in operation. Connecting San Juan and Ponce is a road of this class, 
134 kilometers in length. Others are — 

Kilometers. 

From Cayey to Guayama 33 

Catafio toward Arecibo 29 

Rio Fiedras toward Fajardo, about 33 

Mayaguez toward Ponce 14 

There are a few other detached pieces, making in all 255 kilometers 
(159 miles) that are finished, except for some heavy bridging. About 
65 kilometers are, or have been, under construction. The total length 
of all the military roads, completed or projected, is 719 kilometers. 

What may have been the total expenditure on these highways it is 
now impossible to ascertain, but it is the opinion of experienced 
American engineers that they can not be duplicated for less than 
$15,000 a mile. It is, therefore, easy to see that the completion of the 
military roads alone (and all of them are indispensably necessary) will 
cost over $4,000,000; and if to this be added the cost of completing 
those sections now under construction and the cost of supplying the 
bridges that are lacking, the whole will reach not less than $5,000,000. 

But these are only the principal lines of communication; it yet 
remains to connect all the interior towns with the main roads. The 
length of these minor roads will be not less than 250 miles and the cost 
not less than $10,000 per mile. Before this island can be said to have 
proper and suitable highways an expenditure of $8,000,000 must be 
made. There will still remain the construction or decided improve- 
ment of a network of farm roads and trails. Of course it will be a long 
time before such projects can be realized, no matter how prosperous the 
country may be. 

It is impossible for a person unfamiliar with tropical countries 
(especially with those which, like Puerto Rico, are rough and mountain- 
ous) to understand why practicable highways need cost such enormous 



REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 45 

sums, but a residence in this island through one rainy season will make 
the reason quite clear. 

Not less than a half dozen times during the summer and fall there 
will be a rainfall of two or more inches in an hour. Early in August of 
this year a rain of 11 J inches fell at one place in four hours. On every 
occasion of great precipitation every river, rivulet, and brook is a raging- 
torrent. No road ditching is adequate to lead off the water, and the 
surging floods carry down drift and sweep away the bridges. The 
limestone soil becomes a mass of mud, and even empty carts can not be 
moved over any kind of roads save those which are thoroughly ballasted. 

For the various branches of public work the budget this year carries 
over $500,000. which is more than one fourth of the total of all appro- 
priations for the island. The public works are under the direction of 
a very competent officer of the Corps of Engineers of the Army, and 
the methods of administration and supervision customary in the United 
States are applied. 

The number of miles of telegraph wire in use is 669, and the number 
of miles of line is 493. The number of offices is 25. Six telephones 
are used in connection with the telegraph. In the hurricane of August 8 
fully half the poles went down, but nearly all have been reestablished. 
The line is operated by the Army Signal Service, and is maintained 
without cost to the island. Its commercial receipts do not half pay the 
cost of maintenance and operation. 

The only harbor upon which there has been any public expenditure 
is that of San Juan. It is about 4 miles long and 1^ miles wide, but 
the area of anchorage ground for large sea vessels is not more than 
one-tenth the total area. 

Ships drawing 24 feet can enter freely, the entrance being easy. 
Those drawing 24 feet can lie alongside the bulkhead line to discharge 
directly without lightering. It is not the practice, however, for com- 
mercial vessels to unload there. Usually everything is lightered 
ashore. 

Under Spain much dredging was done and the deep-water area much 
enlarged. The soil was deposited on the marsh land or shallow-water 
front of the city, and much valuable land reclaimed by this process. 

The project for further harbor improvements was quite an ambitious 
one, for besides deepening the entrance to 28 feet, it was proposed by 
removing a point of shoal extending from a marsh to double the area 
of the inner port. 

Lying abreast of San Juan in this harbor are two swampy islands — 
Manglar, or Isle Grande, and Miraflores. Both could readily be 
reclaimed, and the area of the former would be very valuable for the 
erection of wharfs, storehouses, etc. Miraflores bounds the inner har- 
bor on the north, and it would seem that it could be made very valua- 
ble for naval purposes. An old powder magazine on it is now used as 
a lazaretto in connection with the quarantine service. 

The inner or eastern extension of the harbor is, however, too shallow 
for vessels of more than 12 or 15 feet in depth. It could be very easily 
dredged and the material removed could be deposited on the swamp 
islands above named. 

The reserve set aside for naval purposes by Executive order in March 
last includes a large number of private lands. Were the naval sta- 
tion established as proposed, these properties would have to be pur- 
chased, and their cost would be very considerable. 

It is suggested that a sum equal to the cost of extinguishing those 
private rights devoted to public works would suffice to reclaim a much 



46 REPORT OK BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 

larger area of swamp lands, and at the same time greatly extend this 
harbor. The commercial growth aud extension of the city and island 
would be much promoted by this course. To execute the present naval 
project would very much prejudice such extensions, as it would leave 
no adequate space for wharfs, docks, or storehouses. 

The harbor improvements in Puerto Rico were in the charge of a 
board of harbor works. This was a semipublic semilocal institution, 
of which there are many examples in European countries. It has the 
right to reclaim lands and to own and sell property, revenue being- 
derived from the tonnage tax, from shipping, harbor, and light dues, 
and from the sale or rental of unclaimed lands. These proceeds were 
applied to harbor improvements. 

The harbor at Ponce is little more than an open roadstead. All goods 
are lightered, there being no improvements save a small wharf built for 
landing imports, a very small aud inadequate affair. The business of 
the port, however, is large, and, with general industrial development, 
should be sufficient to justify such works of improvement as dredging 
and the construction of wharves and a breakwater. At present a 
wharf extending far enough out to reach 20 feet of water would require 
a structure quite 1,500 feet long. 

There was formerly a board of harbor works at Ponce, but it accom- 
plished nothing, and is not now iu existence. 

Mayaguez has had no public improvements worthy of the name save 
an old wharf built several years ago. This is said to have been con- 
structed badly and in the wrong place. It is a question whether the 
structure is worth repairing. 

The board of harbor works at San Juan was discontinued and the 
property placed in the charge of the department engineer officer. 
Recently the duties of harbor works were merged into those of public 
works in general and placed under charge of the board of public works, 
the president of which is an officer of the United States Army engineers. 
The property taken over from the old "Junta de Obras del Puerto" 
(board of harbor works) is of considerable value, consisting principally 
of dredges, tugs, and machine shops. 

MAIL SERVICE. 

The postal service has been under the direction and control of Mr. 
William H. Elliott, sent to the island shortly after its military occupa- 
tion by the Postmaster-General. Before the beginning of the present 
fiscal year the expense of this service in excess of receipts was made 
up from the general appropriations of the United States for mail service. 
Subsequent to that date the deficiency has been a charge to the revenues 
of the island. In the first quarter of the current economical year this 
deficit has been $17,234.04. 

By Executive order the mail service is placed under the supervision 
and direction of the director-general of posts, who reports direct to the 
Postmaster-General. The military governor has no authority or con- 
trol over the postal department, although Mr. Elliott is directed to 
fully confer with him. Details can not, therefore, be supplied concern- 
ing the operations of this service. Whatever money is required to 
make up the deficiency of expenses over receipts is supplied from the 
revenues of Puerto Rico. The accounts are audited by the auditor of 
the island, who reports to the military governor. 

It will be seen from the above and from the auditor's report that the 
expenses much exceed the income. Its cost for the year was estimated 
at $144,000 aud the receipts or income from sale of stamps, regis- 
trations, and money orders were figured at $80,000 per annum. 



REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 47 

Except for about three or four weeks after the hurricane the mails 
have been promptly received and forwarded. During the period referred 
to all means of transportation were disorganized throughout the island, 
and it was difficult or impossible to. promptly force* the mail carriers 
through on schedule time. 

THE QUARANTINE. 

By Executive order the quarantine service has been under the direc- 
tion" and supervision of Dr. Glennan, of the Marine-Hospital Service. 
He reports direct to the Surgeon-General of that service, but funds 
to meet expenditures are supplied from the insular treasury. His esti- 
mates for the year were about $23,000 for the service proper. 

There has been no epidemic or contagious disease in Puerto Rico since 
American occupation. The quarantine of vessels has been such as to 
very slightly inconvenience them or to embarrass trade, and yellow 
fever, which has prevailed in Cuba, has not effected a lodgment here. 

The quarantine service has been well administered by Dr. Glennan. 

THE TREASURY. 

Maj. James A. Buchanan, Fifteenth Infantry, is the treasurer of the 
island, filling the position created by Executive order of May 8, 1899. 
This officer has been in Puerto Rico since the American occupation, and 
since September, 1898, has been on duty in the insular customs service. 
For six months before he became treasurer he bad been the chief cus- 
toms collector for Puerto Rico. This experience was valuable to him in 
the office of treasurer. 

All moneys from whatever source collected or received are placed in 
the custody of the treasurer, and all advances are made by him, besides 
many disbursements. His office force of two clerks and a messenger 
boy has sufficed for clerical assistance. 

The funds received are all deposited with the War Department depos- 
itories, Do Ford & Co. and the American Colonial Bank, Each of these 
institutions is under "fidelity bonds for $500,000. 

The total number of disbursing officers is twenty-nine, and each of 
them is under bond of fidelity, in sums varying from $500 to $20,000. 
There have been no defalcations and no important disallowances in 
the auditing. About half of the disbursing officers are natives, and 
tbey are receiving valuable instruction which should profit them here- 
after. 

The new system of accounting is strange to the natives, and replaced 
one which seemed to Americans very complicated and laborious. 
The utilization of places of deposit for money instead of keeping it in 
safes is an innovation. The amounts in possession of disbursing officers 
is small, and the accounts of expenditures are demanded promptly. 
Formerly they had three months in which to account, but now the period 
allowed is but twenty days. All money accounts are in United States 
currency, and if provincial money is received it is credited by the depos- 
itories at the official rate of exchange, of 60 United States for 100 
Puerto Rican. 

AUDIT OF ACCOUNTS. 

By Executive order of May 8, 1899, an auditing system for all 
receipts and disbursements of insular accounts was established, and 
about the same date Mr. J. R. Garrison was appointed auditor. He 



48 REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 

arrived early in June and immediately entered upon his duties. Before 
the close of the month preparations were made, employees appointe'd 
or assigned, blank forms prepared, office rooms designated, and all was 
made ready for the installation qf the system, which went into effect on 
July 1, the beginning of the fiscal year, which here corresponds to the 
United States practice. 

Later blank forms were supplied from Washington, and the work 
has been carried on in accordance with the regulations of the War 
Department on this subject, which were promulgated in Washington 
on May 11, 1899. In order to supplement those regulations and cover 
minor points, defining more specifically the duties of the minor officers, 
orders were issued which would effect this result. (See General Orders, 
]S~os. 87 and 101, current series, in Appendix.) 

The system has worked smoothly and well. As minor defects are 
developed the proper remedy is applied, and the native officials are 
becoming familiar with the method. 

Special attention is invited to the report herewith of Mr. J. E. Garri- 
son, auditor, dated September 30, 1899, to whom special mention is due 
for his efficient services. This report only covers the period of his 
incumbency. 

The receipts and expenditures of the military government for the 
period of occupation to June 30, 1899, have been audited under the 
supervision of Maj. C. H. Heyl, inspector-general, Department of Puerto 
Rico, assisted for a part of the work by Mr. W. T. Kent, expert account- 
ant, Inpector- General's office. Major Heyl's report is herewith and 
covers the period stated. The receipts and expenditures of customs 
have been separately audited by Mr. W. W. Barre, assistant auditor 
for the island. His report is also herewith. 

During the early period of military occupation there was no general 
treasurer. The commanding general gave orders for advancements 
and disbursements directly to the collectors of customs, and there was 
necessarily some confusion in accounts which it has been difficult to 
disentangle, but it is hoped the general statement herewith will be 
found satisfactory. 

In auditing these complex money returns it was not possible to hold 
strictly to the customary United States rules. In the confusion of mili- 
tary operations some disbursing agents neglected to take formal 
receipts, but the auditor is satisfied that the expenditures were all for 
a public purpose, and that all receipts were duly accounted for. 

In the accounts of the civil branches of the military government the 
auditing has been still more difficult. The collectors of internal rev- 
enue did not, under the then existing rules, state their accounts in the 
same manner as now. It was very difficult to secure the information 
required, and to secure adequate vouchers for the moneys disbursed. 

These civil accounts have not yet been entirely audited, and it will 
require seven weeks more to complete them. In one office particularly, 
i. e., public works, this has been especially difficult. Early in the cal- 
endar year the Director of Public Works was ordered to employ from 
15,000 to 20,000 men on the roads — the many roads all over the island — 
the purpose being to afford relief to the poor and to improve the high- 
ways. The men were taken in great haste, and no record permitting a 
close audit was kept. In June these road operations were discontinued, 
for it was evident that the money was not accomplishing the objects 
sought to be gained. A new system has now been introduced by which 
it is easy to have method and regularity. 

The entire sum expended on roads during this period, i. e., before 



REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 



49 



work was stopped on those lines, was upward of $300,000, and, while it 
gave some relief to the laboring class, it did not produce the results to 
be expected in completed work on improved roads. If more time had 
been speut in arranging a better accounting system, the relief would 
have been as great and the product of the expenditure would have been 
much more useful and valuable. 

THE BUDGET. 

The insular presupuestos for 1897-98 and 1898-99 are as follows : 



Character of budget. 


Income. 


Expenditures. 




1897-98. 


Pesos. 
3, 939, 500. 00 
1, 217, 700. 00 


Pesos. 
3, 536, 342. 19 




1, 217, 700. 00 








Total 


5, 157, 200. 00 


4, 754, 042. 19 




1898-99. 






4, 782, 500. 00 
324, 592. 89 


4, 457, 327. 31 




324, 592. 89 








Total 


5, 107, 092. 89 


4, 781, 920. 20 







These last amounts, converted into dollars at peso =$0.60, United 
States money, give : 

Income $3,064,255.73 

Expenditures 2,869,152.12 

Surplus 195,103.61 

The estimates for the fiscal year 1899-1900, under the military gov- 
ernment, are: 

Income $1,909,390.14 

Expenditures 1, 943, 678. 11 

Deficit 34,287.97 

The estimate for the current year has recently been revised, in view 
of the reduction of income that must inevitably result from the reduced 
purchasing capacity of the island following upon greatly reduced 
exports. The figures given above are the result of this revision and 
indicate a probable deficit. 

Fortunately, however, there was brought over from the last fiscal 
year an unexpended balance of $450,152.83. It was hoped that it would 
be practicable to retain this for expenditure on roads, which are so sadly 
needed. The contingency of a calamity such as recently befell the 
island was not taken into account in preparing the year's project, and 
the hurricane emphasized the unwisdom of basing confident expecta- 
tions upon the use of this surplus for the purpose stated. 

While the above estimate of income is a conservative one, and ought 
not to exceed the receipts, yet there may be a greater falling off of 
customs and internal-revenue receipts than is indicated by the above. 
Trade conditions are very unsettled, and any decided change in the 
tax on importations, or any increase in the free list, will of course affect 
the budget. 

This project for expenditures has been very carefully studied, and 
a great many reforms have been introduced in all branches of the 
government. 

12558 4 



50 REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 

Under Spanish rule there were 21 officials who received salaries 
exceeding $4,000 per annum, while now there are only two who receive 
as much as $4,000. 

The Spanish Governor-General received 20,000 pesos besides other 
allowances; the bishop of the diocese received 9,000 pesos, and the 
commandant of the troops received 8,000 pesos and horse allowances. 

Under Spanish rule 43 officials received over 3,000 pesos and 35 others 
between 2,000 and 3,000 pesos, while 108 persons in all received between 
1,000 and 3,000 pesos. The number of officials drawing- corresponding 
salaries under the present regime are 17, 31, and 143, respectively. 

But notwithstanding the large reductions that have been made, it 
is not doubted that the number of employees is still excessive. It is 
not easy to know how best to curtail expenses by modifying laws and 
customs such as are found here. Constant watchfulness and observation 
only will show the way. Should it be the lot of the undersigned to pre- 
pare another annual budget the personnel will be still further reduced 
and many other economies introduced. 

Here follow statements of estimated receipts and expenditures in 
the Puerto Eican budget of 1899-1900: 

ESTIMATED RECEIPTS. 

Imposts : 

Land 1 $100,000.00 

City 50,000.00 

Industrial 10,000.00 

Commercial 90, 000. 00 

Mining 8, 000. 00 

Property transfer 20, 000. 00 

Trade-marks and patents 2, 000. 00 

Diplomas 200.00 

Licenses to carry arms 2, 000. 00 

Stamp tax (proposed) 50, 000. 00 

$332, 200. 00 

Miscellaneous : 

Rents, etc., public property, etc 13, 149. 14 

Judicial and other fines 5, 000. 00 

Profit and loss 1,200.00 

Back taxes 100, 000. 00 

Donation for normal school building; at Faiardo 20, 000. 00 

139, 349. 14 

Customs : 

Actual collections, twelve weeks 357, 841. 00 

Estimated, forty weeks , 1,000,000.00 

1,357,841.00 

Postal service : 

Sale of stamps, etc 80,000.00 

Rent of post-office boxes 1, 000. 00 

81, 000. 00 

Total 1,910,390.14 

Balance from 1898-99 450,452.83 

Total available 2,360,842.97 

ESTIMATE OF PROPOSED EXPENDITURES. 

Commanding general's office $32, 700.00 

Insular police 165, 838. 00 

Director-general of posts 22, 376. 00 

Post-offices 88,510.25 

Star route, service and rent 34, 001. 32 

Cnlebra Island 1,000.00 

Marine-Hospital Service 23, 690. 00 

Superior board of health 11, 925. 00 

Vaccination 2,300.00 

Leper hospital 3, 336. 80 

Board of charities 3,725.00 



REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 51 

Orphan and insane asylums $49 ; 882. 00 

Repairs and improvements to same 13' 238. 00 

Aid to civil hospitals g 000. 00 

Judicial hoard 12 216! 00 

Supreme court 32' 040! 00 

Provisional court 20' 700. 00 

District courts 97' 4io_ QO 

Municipal courts 22' 680. 00 

Board of prison control 13' 280. 00 

Prison expenses 212' 864. 00 

Advisory hoard 2' 200. 00 

Civil secretary's office 19' 680. 00 

State and municipal hureau n' 740. 00 

Internal-revenue hureau 14 740, 00 

Agricultural hureau g' 440] qq 

Collection of internal revenue 26 900.00 

Collection of customs 91729. 90 

Board of puhlic works 33' 470. 00 

Repair of huildings "*." 26,' 000." 00 

Repair of military roads 150, 000. 00 

Repair of country roads 40' 000. 00 

Construction of new roads 200' 000! 00 

Harhor works 20 7721 94 

Light-houses (engineering) 23^ 21L 84 

Light-house inspection, huoys, etc 2l'l73.68 

The treasurer's office 3' ooo." 00 

The auditor's office 3l' 990] 00 

Board-of education 27' 30o! 00 

Secondary education " " go' OOO.' 00 

Common schools (salaries) 209' 88000 

School hooks I.".""" 3l'350i00 

Library and museum 1 520 00 

Pensions , \.~""". 1, 956! 00 

Outstanding liahilities , 17 181.98 

Total $1,943,678.71 

RESUME. 

Estimated availahle resources. .. $2 360 842.97 

Estimated expenditures " 1 943' Q^g] 71 

Surplus 417,164.26 

Taking up these items of income, a few remarks mav be appropri- 
ately made. The largest items of internal income are 'the land, city, 
industrial, and commercial taxes, estimated to amount to $250,000. 
Under these heads Spain collected 650,000 pesos. The reductions are 
due to two causes; one is the change in the rate of taxation, and the 
other is the fact that it is impossible, since the destruction of so much 
property by the hurricane, to collect the taxes. Agricultural land is 
now taxed about half as much as formerly. The income from indus- 
trial and commercial investments and business is taxed much less than 
before. 

Formerly the income from royal dues amounted to 148,000 pesos: at 
present this form of tax is unknown. The petroleum tax came to 61,000 
pesos, but this is no longer levied. 

The other items in the budget under "imposts" sufficiently explain 
themselves, except the last of $50,000 from a proposed stamp tax. 
lhis has not yet been instituted, but is contemplated in case the neces- 
sities of the government should require it. It is proposed to place a 
tax of 2 cents on each bank check, draft, note, or receipt, and it is 
estimated this will yield $50,000. 

The miscellaneous items hardly require an explanation, except the 
one for "back taxes." It seems to have been the practice in Puerto 
-Kico for the treasury department to grant extensions of time in the 



52 



REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GEXEKAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 



collection of back taxes. In other cases there were controversies ' 
respecting the accuracy or justice of the assessments, and each year 
there was a considerable amount uncollected. In the year 1898-99 
this amount was larger than usual, and the civil secretary expects to 
secure 8100,000 from this source during the current year. 

Under the head of "Postal service" is mentioned the certain deficit 
in income from this service. As before remarked, this service is not 
under the supervision of the military governor. 

At the beginning of the year the estimated income from customs was 
$30,000 per week, or upwards of $1,500,000 for the year. The receipts 
for" the first ten weeks reached this average, and for twelve succeeding 
weeks came very near to it; but the collections are falling off, as might 
be expected, and it is not probable that for the remainder of the year 
the customs income will exceed $25,000 per week. 

In May the number of custom-houses was ten, and the expense of 
collection nearly 8 per cent of the receipts. This ratio has siuce been 
reduced below 6 per cent, the change being brought about principally 
by reduction in the number of employees and in other items of expense. 
The number of custom-houses has been reduced to seven, as it has 
been found to be practicable to supply all requisite facilities for the 
small ports by substituting for the collector and his employees one 
deputy, who acts at the same time as customs guard. When importers 
wish to land goods at any of these ports, they give timely notice of 
such intention, whereupon the deputy, under orders from the chief col- 
lector of the island, receives the goods, employing such special help as 
he may need, the cost of this extra assistance being repaid by the 
importers. This plan has just been instituted, and it promises to result 
in a saving of considerable expense, without at the same time impairing 
the efficiency of the service. 

Attention is invited to the report herewith of Maj. Charles L. Davis, 
Eleventh Infantry, collector of customs for the island. From the papers 
submitted data will be obtained concerning receipts and expenses at 
custom-houses, tonnage dues, and export and import trade. It is not 
yet possible to make this last report complete so as to cover the whole 
period of military occupation. Some data, still lacking, will be sup- 
plied at an early date. The custom-house at the port of Arroyo was 
destroyed in the storm of August and all the records were lost, so 
it will be impossible to add to existing statistical information respect- 
ing the amounts collected at that place. 

I have collated from statistical reports found here some valuable 
data respecting receipts at the custom-houses under Spanish domina- 
tion, covering the period from 1890 to 1897: 

Customs receipts. 



Year. 



Export 
duties. 



Import 
duties. 



Tonnage 

and 

storage 

duos and 

fines. 



Total. 



1890 

1891 

1892 

1893 

1894 

1895 

1896 

1897 

Total 

Mean 



Pesos. 
112, 018 
107, 607 
121,109 
179,467 
291, 150 
180, 286 
268, 882 
241, 310 



1, 507, 829 



188,478 



Pesos. 
2, 465, 161 
2, 088, 781 
1,766,638 
1,939,437 
2, 240, 523 
2, 846, 767 
3, 101. 511 
2,481,965 



Pesos. 



162,157 
290, 943 
264, 776 
246, 926 



Pesos. 
2, 577, 179 
2, 190, 388 
1, 887, 747 
2,118,904 

2, 693, 830 

3, 323, 996 
3, 635, 109 
2, 970, 201 



18, 930, 783 



964, 802 



21, 403, 354 



2, 366, 347 



241, 200 



2, 675, 419 



REPORT OF BRIGADIER- GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 53 

It will be observed that the total collections for the four years, 
1894-1897, inclusive, amounted to 12,623,136 pesos, or a mean for each 
year of 3,155,784 pesos, which is the equivalent of $1,893,470.40 Ameri- 
can money. As is well known, the present rates of customs tax are 
quite different from those prevailing in the past, many articles being 
on the free list; moreover, there is no export tax, so it is impracticable 
to establish any comparisons of details and schedules. 

When the compilation of statistics is completed a better under- 
standing will be possible as respects the details of trade. The data 
lacking will soon be forwarded. 

Eeviewing the items of the budget covering proposed expenditures for 
the current year, 1 would remark that, while they have been very care- 
fully studied, it is not impossible that variations will have to be made. 
In the auditor's office account is kept with the several items of appro- 
priation as above. In case there should be a deficiency under any one 
head the same will be met by a transfer from some other, or from the 
general surplus. 

The first quarter of the fiscal year has just ended, and the auditor's 
report shows that expenditures have been kept within the ordinary 
receipts. 

Commanding general's office. 

The allowance under this head covers the clerical force for both mili- 
tary and civil work. It has been found necessarv to have a much 
larger force of clerks, interpreters, and translators than would be needed 
under ordinary conditions obtaining in military departments. 

In such departments there have ordinarily been allowed a consider- 
able number of clerks paid from army appropriations, but Puerto Eico 
has no such allotment. If such assistance had been allowed, the 
expenditures for the civil force would have been about half what is 
assigned above. 

Insular police. 

Under this head see remarks relative thereto in another place. While 
the present unsettled state of civil affairs continues it will be necessary 
to retain this police force. 

Postal expenses. • 

See remarks elsewhere relative thereto. The cost of the postal serv- 
ice under Spain was about 70,000 pesos. It is now somewhat larger, 
but its control and supervision is retained by the Postmaster-General. 

Gulebra Island. 

This is not a part of any municipality, and as its inhabitants— some 
600 m number— are very poor, it has been administered directly from 
the central government. The administration and police matters are 
under a delegate, who receives $60 per month. There is also a physi- 
cian to look after health matters. 

Marine-Hospital Service. 
See remarks elsewhere under the title of "Quarantine." 



54 REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 

Superior board of health. 

This board is composed of the chief surgeon of the Department, the 
naval surgeon stationed in San Juan, one other army surgeon and two 
local physicians. It has general supervision over sanitary matters, 
vaccination, and the lepers. 

In the months of January to July 790,000 persons were vaccinated in 
Puerto Eico, at a cost of a little less than $30,000 to the insular treasury. 
There were many cases of smallpox when Puerto Eico was occupied, 
but since this great work of vaccination was completed there have been 
no cases reported. 

There are some 50 unfortunate persons in Puerto Eico who are afflicted 
with the dread disease, leprosy. Arrangements are being perfected for 
their isolation and proper care. 

Board of charities. 

This consists of eight persons; two are natives of the island and the 
others are army and navy surgeons. 

This board has supervision over the insane, the orphans, and other 
charities. There are 125 of the former and some 400 of the latter. 
Both asylums are located at San Juan. Connected with the orphan 
asylum is a school. The aggregate of expense under this board is esti- 
mated at $66,000. This includes $13,000 for very necessary repairs 
and improvements to the buildings, which were in a very bad sanitary 
condition. 

The accommodations are quite inadequate and should be greatly 
extended. Not more than half the island's insane are in the asylum, 
because of lack of accommodations. 

The board of charities has also had charge of the distribution of relief 
supplies sent for saving the poor from starvation. A special report of 
the president of this board is forwarded herewith, from which can be 
learned something of the magnitude of this great undertaking. Major 
Hoff, chief surgeon of the Department and president of the board of 
charities, has shown very marked administrative ability in managing 
the distribution of these supplies. 

Aid to civil hospitals. 

There are eight hospitals in which the sick are cared for. The munici- 
pal resources are so inadequate that I felt it to be expedient to extend 
some financial help to these institutions; accordingly, $1,000 is allowed 
to each of the eight civil hospitals. 

Judicial board. 

Attention is invited to remarks elsewhere under the head of "Judi- 
ciary." The board consists of three distinguished native lawyers, the 
law judge of the United States provisional court, and the judge-advocate 
of the department. 

Supreme court— Provisional court — District courts — Municipal courts. 

These are elsewhere referred to at some length. See also herewith 
report by Maj. A. C. Sharpe, judge-advocate of the department, whose 
assistance has been of great value to me. 



REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 55 

Board of prison control. 

This board consists of the chief justice of the supreme court, two 
other distinguished native lawyers, the judge-advocate of the Depart- 
ment, and the commanding officer of the Puerto Eican battalion. In 
Major Sharpe's report above adverted to will be found much useful 
information respecting the operations of this board. See also remarks 
elsewhere, under the title "Public order, etc." 

Advisory hoard. 

It was found to be very difficult to administer many important matters 
without the assistance of men who were familiar with local economic and 
social conditions. An advisory board supplies this deficiency. 

The acknowledged leader of each political party was asked to name 
three men to serve gratuitously on such a board. The leaders responded 
and the six men so named, together with three who were not connected 
with any political party, are constituted a board of advice and consul- 
tation. 

Another moving motive was to put into existence a body that might 
be regarded as the predecessor of a legislature such as a territorial gov- 
ernment would require. 

The proceedings of the board have not been without friction. In con- 
sideration of one question referred to it, that had in it an element of 
patronage, there was a disagreement and three of the members resigned, 
but later the troubles were overcome. 

The recommendations of the board have been of much value, but it 
is found to be expedient to ask for no recommendations that involve 
political considerations. 

Civil secretary — Municipal and state bureau — Internal-revenue bureau — 

Agricultural bureau. 

These public offices, that formerly pertained to the state, treasury, and 
interior departments, are now under the civil secretary, who reports to 
the military governor. The reorganization facilitates business. 

All of the large amount of correspondence that relates to municipal 
affairs, elections, adjustment of budgets, etc., comes up through the 
chief of the municipal bureau. The island must, it is supposed, ulti- 
mately derive its principal revenue from internal taxation, but this can 
not be until a new scheme of taxation for the whole island can be worked 
out. This work requires very careful consideration and can not be prop- 
erly done until the general policy to be pursued with respect to the 
future status of Puerto Rico is known. It is therefore necessary to 
maintain a bureau of internal revenue, having a personnel familiar 
with the local laws and conditions that relate to internal taxes. The 
treasurer of the island is not yet equipped for handling this department. 

The whole wealth of the island depends upon agriculture, but very 
little has yet been done in development of new industries that depend 
upon agrarian operations. It is hoped that through the reorganized 
agricultural bureau a beginning in farming experiments may be made. 

Collection of customs. 

The cost of these collections is estimated at $91,729, which is equal 
to 6§ per cent of the amount estimated to be collected, but several 
reductions of personnel and salaries have been made, and these will 



56 REPORT OF rSRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 

reduce the ratio. It is also remarked that bad the receipts from cus- 
toms dues held up to the amount estimated before the recent revision 
and reduction, the cost of collections would have remained the same. 
It is hoped and expected that at the end of the year it will be shown 
that the cost of collecting the revenue will not exceed 5^ per cent of 
the amount received. 

In the three mouths just passed the total collections amounted to 
$378,851, and the total of advances to customs ofhcers for payment of 
expenses is $25,797, which gives a ratio of receipts and expenditures of 
100:6.8, but some unexpended balances remain in the hands of these 
collectors. There is also included under the head of expense a consid- 
erable amount for repair of damages to custom-houses and property by 
the storm. Were these deducted the expense would not exceed 5i per 
cent. 

Board of public works — Repair of buildings — Repair of military roads — 
Repair of country roads — Construction of new roads — Harbor works — 
Light-houses. 

Respecting these important items reference is made to remarks else- 
where under the head of "Public Works." The board is composed of 
Captain Judson, of the Corps of Army Engineers; one American civil 
engineer, and one native engineer. The inspector of the light-house 
service, following the practice in the United States, is an officer of the 
Navy. 

The treasury — The auditor. 

Reference is made to remarks under similar titles to be found else- 
where in this report. 

Board of education — Secondary education — Common schools — School 
boolcs — Library and museum. 

These subjects have been fully discussed elsewhere, and the remarks 
thereunder are respectfully referred to. There were practically no 
school books in the island suitable for use. A large expenditure for 
their procurement was necessary. 

Pensions. 

Spain allowed under this head 348,000 pesos, carried by the island 
budget, and 1,560 pesos by the provincial deputation, making a total 
equivalent to $209,736. 

The only allowances for pensions now recognized are $600 to the 
widow of a distinguished patriot and public man, and the same amount 
to another man of the same character who, now about 70 years of age, 
has a large family of dependent children. He has rendered some forty 
years of public service as a school teacher aud in other important 
capacities. The remaining amount of $750 is allowed the three youths 
who last year were sent abroad to pursue studies as teachers and who 
are still so absent; but they have been notified that the allowance will 
be discontinued. 

Outstanding liabilities. 

These are stated by the civil secretary at $17,181, and represent 
audited accounts. There are other claims against the insular treasury 
that have not yet been liquidated, among them one of the French 



REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 



57 



Eailway for a large sum as subvention on its lines. As the concession 
to this road is claimed to have been forfeited, the claim is not recog- 
nized. Another claim, that of the Josephite Brethren (Padres Escola- 
pios Pios), was some time since forwarded to the War Department. No 
doubt many other claims will be presented in time. 

Here follows an abstract of the budget of receipts and expenditures 
of Puerto Eico for the fiscal years 1897-98 and 1898-99, both for the 
island proper and for the provincial deputation : 



EECEIPTS. 

Budget of the island: 

1. Laud and other taxes 

2. Customs 

3. Taxes on monopolies 

4. State property 

5. Contingent receipts 

Budget of provincial deputation: 

Total of receipts 



1897-98. 



Total for both budgets. 



EXPENDITURES. 

Budget of the island : 

3 . General liabilities 

2.- Justice 

3. War 

4. Finance 

5. Navy 

6 . State 

7. Interior 

Budget of provincial deputation : 

1. Deputation provincial _- 

2. State 

3. Interior 



Pest 

576, 

3, 132, 

184, 

9, 

36, 



200. 00 
900. 00 
200. 00 
300. 00 
900. 00 



1898-99. 



1,217,700.00 



5, 157, 200. 00 



423 
,252 
260 
222 



501. 60 
818.80 
377. 76 
SO0. 00 
668. 20 



878, 175. 83 



221, 
210 



261. 48 
254. 00 
184. 52 



Pesos. 
901, 200. 00 
, 377, 900. 00 
312, 200. 00 
9, 300. 00 
181,900.00 

324, 592. 89 



5, 117, 092. 89 



498, 501. 60 
4.54, 773. 80 

1, 252, 377. 76 
225, 825. CO 
222, 668. 20 
592, 653. 83 

1,210,527.12 

227, 772. 89 
""98,820.66 



Total for both budgets ! 4,754,042.19 4,781,920.20 



MORTGAGES. 

The mortgage indebtedness of Puerto Eico from 1880 to 1898, inclusive, 
is shown in the tabulated statement herewith. The tabulation was com- 
piled by Mr. Coll y Toste, the civil secretary, from the records of property 
transfers. Of course it has not been possible to verify these records 
since the American occupation. 

Elsewhere are allusions to this important subject and attention is 
invited thereto. The current indebtedness of merchants and others, 
covered by commercial paper, will also amount to a large sum. The total 
indebtedness may reach, if not exceed, $50,000,000. The island gov- 
ernment, however, has no debt— a very fortunate circumstance; nor do 
the municipalities owe any large sums, the aggregate of all their loans 
not reaching $1,000,000. 

On January 19, 1899, General Henry issued orders that, with refer- 
ence to agricultural property and machinery, the laws relating to the 
foreclosure of mortgages and all legal and judicial proceedings there- 
under, should be suspended for one year from the date named, provided 
the interest on such debts be paid when due at a rate not exceeding 12 
per cent per annum. The order authorizing suspension of foreclosure 
did not apply to the collection of insular or municipal taxes. 

This order has been productive of both benefits and injuries. It has 
saved many a poor proprietor from the loss of his home by foreclosure, 
but it has displeased those who held the securities, and has resulted in 
the withholding of loans to others, who, wishing to borrow, were denied 
the privilege by those able to lend, because the latter feared that at the 



58 REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 

expiration of the year the provisions of the order would be extended, 
and they would be again denied the right of forced collection of indebt- 
edness by foreclosure. Some appeals asking for reissue of the order 
in question so as to make it apply for another year, and others from 
the mortgagees, protesting against further extension have been pre- 
sented. 

The rates of interest agreed upon in these secured loans were in many 
cases far above the rates that agricultural lauds ever pay in the United 
States. Rates exceeding 12 per cent are common here, and many loans 
are secured by mortgage where the interest promised is IS and 20 per 
cent. Of course the agricultural industry in Puerto Rico cau not long 
be burdened with such a tax. 

In the period following the evacuation, and before the promulgation 
of this order by General Henry, a large number of mortgages were 
foreclosed, and had there been no interference with legal process for 
foreclosure a very considerable part of the land of Puerto Rico would in 
a brief time have changed hands, the economical and industrial condi- 
tions being such that it was in the power of creditors to have forced 
foreclosures. 

In Cuba the Spanish governor-general suspended foreclosures in 1896, 
and there was another suspension by General Blanco in 1897, while, in 
1898, General Brooke again extended the suspension for another period. 
It would appear that General Henry followed this precedent. 

This is a very important matter which deserves thorough considera- 
tion. Taking into account the present depressed condition of indus- 
tries and business, it seems probable that many of the existing proprie- 
tors will soon be sold out. 

This was the subject of a special report to the Department under 
date of September 5, 1899, and attention to it is respectfully invited. 

The cane growers are in a better economic condition than any other 
agrarian proprietors. Those having modern machinery have, at the 
present prices of sugar, a margin of profit reaching in exceptional cases 
1 cent per pound of sugar x^roduced, and these men are able to arrange 
not only to meet their old engagements, but also to obtain new loans. 

The coffee growers, however, are in very poor shape, for, with the 
already low prices and the losses by storms, they have no way of meet- 
ing overdue payments, to say nothing of securing additional credits. 

POLITICS. 

Elsewhere in this report will be found allusions to the political par- 
ties which have existed in the recent past and to those that still exist. 

The two political parties having active organizations and representa- 
tion in all the municipalities are designated, respectively, Liberal and 
Republican; but very recently the Liberals have dissolved and reor- 
ganized under the name of the Federal Party. Its programme, or what 
we should call its platform, dated October 1, 1899, will be found in the 
appendix. While known by the name of Liberals they had no written 
platform. 

Those associated under the name of the Republican Party anuounced 
their platform in March last. This will also be found in the appendix. 

There are some other active groups having political aims, but no 
formal organizations. Some call themselves the Labor Party, and there 
is said to be an offshoot of this with socialistic tendencies. 

The hope of all politicians in this island is for an autonomic govern- 
ment. Individuals of both parties differ as to the time when home rule 



REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 59 

should be instituted, but all have that ultimate object constantly in 

mind. 

There has been no general election in Puerto Kico since March, 1898, 
and the issue then at stake was not one that permitted a judgment as 
to the relative partisan strength of those now calling themselves Federals 
and Republicans. The names of the parties were then different, and the 
question at issue was one that is not now pending. Five parties were 
represented, and the one then called Autonomist-Liberal prevailed. 

Each of the two parties now struggling for mastery claims the majority 
of voters. The people know that municipal elections are soon to be 
held, and there will be a very active campaign for political mastery of 
localities. The successful party will hope and expect to elect delegates 
to and control a Territorial legislature, which all appear to expect will 
soon be in existence. 

As respects the principles of these two parties, no characteristic dif- 
ferences are stated. Each desires to control the insular government, 
and considers the first elections as stepping stones to that end. 

There is much unseemly partisan strife in some towns. A tendency 
to permit political differences to control in personal relations appears 
to exist. Individuals of the opposite party are often rated as criminals 
or blackguards or as in some way disreputable. 

Puerto Eieaus have had elections, so-called, for many years, but 
there was no real freedom of action. The government always elected 
its candidates and the people understood that this would be so. They 
might turn out generally or stay at home; the result was the same. 
There was formerly no sufficient motive for zeal and activity, but now 
there is a reward in sight. Close observers who are old residents, but 
nonpartisan, declare that whichever party prevails we may expect a 
continuance of methods similar to those of the past, and a corrupt 
government administered solely in the interest and for the aggrandize- 
ment of the party in power. 

Under the title of "Municipalities" there are stated some of the condi- 
tions that exist. In order that the town councils may be elected by the 
people instead of being appointed, as done heretofore and at present, 
orders have been given for electiqns, and these will very soon take place. 
' While the franchise will be a restricted one, permitting only taxpay- 
ers and those who can read and write — say, 5 per cent of the popula- 
tion — to vote, those elected will probably be of the same class as those 
formerly in power, coucerning whom there have been the most bitter 
complaints of maladministration and misuse of power. It remains to 
be seen if the chosen representatives of the people will show a better 
record than their predecessors, who held office by appointment. It is 
scarcely possible that it should be worse. 

These party leaders have read of civil rights, are somewhat familiar 
with representative institutions existing in the Uuited States and else- 
where, and in their essays and political utterances picture to the Puerto 
Eicans as soon to be theirs all the joys and privileges that the best- 
governed countries possess. Their promises are certainly alluring. 

The old Puerto Eican government was the rule of a class, and the 
common or plain people had no other relation to the government than 
as subjects. They had been thoroughly taught obedience, and accepted 
the situation without more than a murmur, and repression always ended 
the murmuring. 

A political leader is always received with acclamations of praise by 
his friends and with maledictions by his opponents. The plain people 
have been led and governed and controlled so long that they expect 
nothing else; and the leaders will see that they are^not disappointed. 



60 REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 

Appeals to send military officers to take charge of municipal gov- 
ernments are constant, because, it is alleged, those of minority repre- 
sentation in the town councils are oppressed, buffeted, and insulted. 
So summary a course is objectionable, and only in three places have 
the civil authorities been replaced by the military. At this writing- 
appeals are daily received from one of the principal towns in the island 
detailing the civil commotion and state of unrest that prevail, supple- 
mented with a request that a military man be sent to displace the towu 
council and assume entire charge. From the same town reports come 
of threats of personal violence toward public men. A military detach- 
ment in that locality has orders to see that the public peace is preserved, 
but to interfere in no way with civil administration. An election will 
soon be held there and the experiment tried of local self-government 
by chosen representatives. 

It is of record that a few nights since a bottle filled with ordure was 
thrown into and broken in the sitting room of the family of the alcalde. 
A night or two later the compliment was returned by a similar salute 
in the home circle of a rival political leader. 

So suspicious are these native politicians that no military officer can 
be for one month stationed in any town, but no matter how careful 
he may be in abstaining from any participation with political men and 
measures, he is sure to be accused by one party or the other of a lean- 
ing to its opponent. If such officer should chance to be seen speaking 
to a politician or showing any civility to one, some rival is certain to 
assert that the officer has gone over to the enemy, and it is asked 
that he be at once relieved. It is, of course, impossible to comply 
with such requests. All military officers are enjoined to abstain abso- 
lutely from anything, whether word or deed, that could in any way 
impair their usefulness for impartial and unbiased action. 

MUNICIPALITIES. 

This word, as applied in Puerto Eico with respect to government, has 
no equivalent in the United States. In one respect it resembles the 
city governments in the States — i. e., it is an administration by a mayor 
and towu council, as in our own cities; but here the powers of a cor- 
poration are not conferred by legislative enactment, as with us, nor are 
the jurisdiction and control limited to the area covered by streets and 
buildings, but includes farms, pastures, forests, waste lands, and 
swamps. In the United States what is called a town or township is 
here called a municipality; but, unlike our rural towns, it is governed 
and administered in the same manner as our cities, and its officials 
have duties and responsibilities very much like those of our own city 
officers. 

This system of administering local government is understood to have 
been general throughout all parts of the colonies of Spain that were 
inhabited by Europeans or their descendants. Article 53 of the auton- 
omic scheme of government for Puerto Rico, proclaimed by royal decree 
of November 25, 18!)7, made municipal government compulsory for 
every group of inhabitants numbering more than 1,000. The practice 
was, and is, to subdivide the country into what we would call town- 
ships, and to supply these divisions with local governments similar to 
those that are accorded to our cities; so here were found in control the 
municipal councils formed on the old lines. 

Each municipality has a mayor, or alcalde, from two to five assistant 
alcaldes, and from ten to thirty aldermen, also a secretary. These com- 



REPORT OP BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS, 61 

nose what is called the ayuntamieuto, which in English is properly 
named the town council. Other officials are: A municipal judge, a 
prosecutor, a secretary, a municipal physician, police, taxgatherers, 

and school board. 

The municipal district is divided into wards, called here barrios. 
At the head of each of these is a comissario, or agent, appointed by the 
town council, and reporting directly to the municipal alcalde. 

The town council had power to frame laws, not inconsistent with the 
general statutes, respecting education, highways, health, and public 
order to levy and collect taxes, and to borrow and expend money. 
The members of the council are civilly responsible for any damage 
caused by their acts. . 

Associated with the council is a municipal board, appointed by the 
town councils, having numbers equal to the whole number composing 
the municipal council, but their functions related exclusively to financial 
measures. Only taxpayers were eligible to sit on either board. From 
the year 1873 the councilmen were required by law to be appointed by 
popular election, the suffrage being more or less restricted. 

The appointment of mayors, according to the laws which had been in 
force for some time, was in the power of the governor general, to whom 
three names from which to make a selection were sent by the council, 
but if the names of the parties sent were not to his liking, the governor 
could instead appoint any other councilman, or even an individual 
out of the council. This case, which the law recognized as an excep- 
tional procedure, became the general rule. By this means the Govern- 
ment secured direct and immediate intervention, not only in the 
municipal administration, but also in the election of representatives 
for the Cortes, a very essential point in Spanish practical politics. 

The practical working of this system had been most unsatisfactory to 
the Puerto Eicans during Spanish rule, and is condemned by all who have 
had opportunity for observation. With the exit of Spanish power and 
the advent of the United States military rule, it became necessary to 
find some means through which the councils could be kept going with- 
out the intervention of elections, which were impracticable. 

The island is racked and torn by political animosities. Under the 
title of "The former regime" the parties are named which have striven 
and are striving for mastery. 

Municipal elections were impossible for several reasons. In the first 
place, the whole framework of society was disorganized, in consequence 
of the war and the change of sovereignty. The civil disorders pro- 
duced a sort of reign of terror, and disturbers of the peace intimidated 
almost everyone. As offshoots or outgrowths of the times and of the 
disturbed conditions two political parties came into being, each striving 
for mastery of the island when it should be given Territorial existence. 
It is asserted that each resorted to measures of intimidation and threat 
that did not leave the well disposed in a state of mind to permit of a 
free ballot and a fair count. 

When vacancies occurred in the towns occupied by the invading 
army the military commanders filled vacancies of alcaldes and town 
councilmen, for there was no other practical way of preserving town 
government, even in name. 

After General Brooke assumed command of the department on 
October 18, he continued the practice, and General Henry pursued the 
same course, but attempted to regulate the balance of political power 
by requiring vacancies to be filled in such a way that the councils 
would be half and half, Liberal and Eepublican. His orders to this 



62 REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 

effect have been continued, but much friction has ensued, for when a 
majority Of one controlled the action of the council on any question it 
was easy for one man to so manipulate as practically to control the 
action of the ayuntamiento. 

The Advisory Board convened by department order, consisting of 
five able and representative men who do not belong to either political 
party, and whose opinions were asked respecting certain features of the 
existing government, remarked as follows respecting municipal affairs: 

Elections have been held in Puerto Rico for the last thirty years with different 
kinds of suffrage and with divers electoral systems. Unfortunately all the svstems 
have resulted m a farce. On the one hand, the Government always tried to corrupt 
the suffrage in order to obtain its political ends; on the other hand, the gross igno- 
rance of the large electoral body has always been a fruitful field for the germination 
and growth of all kinds of abuses. 

The abuses that exist in municipalities are notorious. In many of 
them in this island misgovernment and chaotic conditions are the rule. 
In a few society seems to have resolved itself into its original elements 
of individuals acting without concert. In such places civil order is 
secured through the presence therein of military detachments or through 
the aid of the insular police. 

The aggregate of all the municipal budgets for the year 1897-98 
amounted to 2,697,949 pesos, while the total for the current fiscal year 
has been brought down to 1,429,981 pesos. This last figure is believed 
to be much too high; but without the cooperation of honest and public- 
spirited men it is impossible to know where to make reductions. 

Just before the hurricane an election was ordered to be held for munici- 
pal officers in one of the towns, but the confusion caused by the hurri- 
cane prevented the consummation of this measure. Arrangements have 
been made to complete this election and to hold others throughout the 
island in pursuance of an order recently issued, in which are contained 
full directions for conducting the different steps. 

By the end of the year it is hoped that all municipalities will have in 
office town oificers of their own choice, so that it will be possible to have 
a fair test of the capacity of these people to conduct their local affairs 
in an orderly, honest, and economical manner. The rules governing 
these elections will result in the supremacy of the dominant party in 
each town, giving that party a good working majority; but the minority 
will also have at least a one-third representation. 

As before stated, the number of municipalities is now sixty-nine— 
that is to say, the whole area of the island is made up of political divi- 
sions which, while municipalities in so much as concerns the nature or 
character of government, are such territorial subdivisions as in our own 
country would be called townships. County and parish subdivisions 
are unknown, and there never has been any machinery for conducting 
the administrative affairs of such subdivisions. 

By recent orders five district courts were created. These districts, 
or legal jurisdictional areas, might appropriately be styled counties, 
as they have an area and population not greater than those commonly 
included in such subdivisions in the States of the Union. 

But it does not seem practicable to change from the present sys- 
tem—this for the reason that the existing municipal government is 
well known and understood, while the Anglo-Saxon county organization 
is new to the people. To cut loose suddenly from the familiar gov- 
erning system that now exists would be very difficult. The basis of 
municipal government in all Latin countries appears to have been 
the Roman municipium. This latter, once independent, was secured 
by conquest, reduced and incorporated into the Roman commonwealth 



KEPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 63 

under the name given, and admitted to a more or less ample participa- 
tion in the rights of citizenship, retaining, after the annexation, their 
own distinct organization and political divisions, and their own mag- 
istrates, legislatures, and judicatories; but being, nevertheless, subject 
to the general control of the sovereign body in Rome, Whatever their 
orio-in, we now have in Puerto Rico sixty-nine of these political divisions, 
each entirely independent of all the others and subordinate only to the 
central government. While this arrangement brings the central gov- 
ernment into direct touch with the towns, it also results m a much 
greater mass of official correspondence and intercourse than would be 
necessary in a State of 1,000,000 inhabitants subdivided and governed 
as in the American Union. _ 

With us, county supervisors, or county commissioners, with boards oi 
assessors, have jurisdiction or authority over the whole county of ten or 
twenty towns or civil districts, and the governing and administrative 
body consists only of a few trustees or " selectmen," and justices of the 
peace, often without salary. This gives the utmost simplicity to the 
governmental organization in our towns and saves expense, while here 
the machinery required for a municipality (town) is as complicated as m 
our incorporated cities. The Puerto Ricans, however, are accustomed 
to this organization, and have no knowledge of any other. Gradually 
the transformation, if finally found to be desirable, can be made, but a 
radical measure disjointing and disarranging the existing municipal 
system would be deplored. 

By orders of the military governors, some improvements have already 
been effected. Municipal courts have been organized, the number of 
officials being reduced more than half, and several superfluous offices 
have been abolished. All this has been done in response to public 
sentiment here formally expressed. Still there has been no change as 
respects the form of government; the modification relates only to the 
present administration. The laws of the country are not bad; on the 
contrary, many of them are excellent. It is only the bad administra- 
tion of those laws that I have endeavored to reform. 

The number of municipalities is excessive, and many of them are 
unable to sustain the burden of separate existence. Appeals for finan- 
cial help are constantly coining in, accompanied by the statements that 
the taxes can not be collected; that officials, school-teachers, and the 
police are unpaid, and that the sick are without medicines and 
attendance. . . 

In response to these appeals, the petitioners are enjoined that the 
only measure of relief suggested is the amalgamation of the weak with 
the stronger towns. In one case this merging of two towns was accom- 
plished after public voting. 

The objections to amalgamation are various and some of them have 
weight. It is asserted to be the rule that the taxes collected through- 
out a municipal district are almost exclusively expended in maintain- 
ing the officials, police, etc., who live in the central pueblo, or village, 
and that should one small place be merged into a large one, the former 
would have no corresponding benefit and would escape the taxgatherer 
no better than before. 

Another ground of objection is the woefully bad means of communi- 
cation between the municipal centers. Hardly any of the roads between 
any of the towns are worthy of the name, and it is often absolutely 
- impossible for travelers to get from one town to another save on foot 
or on horseback. 
There are other reasons assigned for refusal on the part of these 



64 REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 

feeble municipalities to agree to being merged into others. The above 
set forth are the most cogent. On the other hand, the reasons why 
the consolidations ought to be effected are many aud scarcely need to 
be stated. A committee of oue of the political parties recommended a 
consolidation whereby the number of municipalities should be reduced 
to twenty-six. This board remarked : 

It is very important that a plan should be thought out to reduce the present excess- 
ive number of municipalities. The present number had its origin in Spanish times 
when only employees and those persons paying taxes of $25 and above had the right 
to vote for representatives to the national parliament. The government stimulated 
the formation of small municipalities, so as to be able to count on the votes of 
alcaldes, secretaries, doctors, priests, and other employees. These small villages are 
very badly governed, and can not support the excessive charges which the present 
law of municipalities burdens upon them. But they are afraid to annex themselves 
to the larger towns, which would absorb their income without giving them the nec- 
essary service required by every locality in order to live comfortably and decently. 

This committee has thought of two methods which it thinks necessary in order to 
diminish the present number of municipalities. One is to promote the formation of 
municipal districts composed of two or more small towns. Each town would preserve 
its name aud individuality, and would be governed by an alcalde and three or four 
minor employees. The municipal district would be governed by an assembly com- 
posed of delegates from each of the towns therein comprised. This assembly would 
vote the budget for the whole district, of which two-thirds of the part collected 
from each town would be assigned to that town's local expenses, such as town doc- 
tor, medicines, slaughterhouse, meat market, schools, health, police, etc. In this way 
the small towns would not have to fear that, on dispensing with their own councils 
and annexing themselves to the larger towns, they would lack the service they 
to-day enjoy, for, on the contrary, they should have better service and more benefits 
thau they now have. 

The other method is to stimulate small towns in the neighborhood of the larger 
ones to annex themselves, assuring them that they will not be absorbed, and that 
their local existence would be bettered. 

Equal guaranties should be granted to the rural wards (barrios) constituting cen- 
ters of population — for example, Jayuya in Utuado and Catauo in Bayamon. 

These wards desire to be segregated from their municipalities, alleging that they 
pay heavy municipal taxes, and that the municipality to which they form part give 
their local needs no attention, leaving them unprovided with doctor, dispensary, 
meat market, police, street lighting, and other services, aud usiug the greater part 
of their share of taxation to the improvement of the large or head town of the 
municipal district. 

The plan is impracticable save by the military mandate, and that 
is objectionable in a democracy, a form of government which it is thought 
to develop here, if the moving thought in the United States is correctly 
grasped. 

The only practicable plan is to limit and restrict the number of 
municipal officials, fix and define their sources of revenue, supervise 
expenditures, check excesses, reduce salaries, improve roads and other 
means of communication, and convince the people that a combination 
of two or three weak towns would secure for all pueblos, near or remote, 
a better economic and social state than they could secure by separate 
existence. But this must all be taught by experience and example. 

So great have been and are the social disorders and economic mis- 
management that these towns which have abundant wealth and should* 
be able to give ample securities for loans can not secure advaftces from 
credit institutions for the most obviously necessary improvements and 
repairs. 

But three towns in the island have any but the most rudimentary 
arrangements for water supply, and only one has a sewer system — a very 
poor one at that. There are very few that have adequate municipal 
buildings; and schoolhouses owned by the towns are generally lack- 
ing. Hence the majority of the municipalities are bankrupt, or so 
nearly so that as borrowers they have no standing. There are a few 
exceptions. Fajardo has just negotiated a loan of $20,000 to be 



REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 65 

applied to the erection of a normal trade school — this sum to be 
raised to $40,000 by an advance of $120,000 which has been authorized 
from the insular revenues — all to be expended under the general super- 
vision of the board of public works. Arecibo has the promise of a loan 
of $40,000 for the completion of a system of water supply, and general 
sanction will be given to the application to make this loan, without, 
however, guaranteeing the payment. Ponce, a town of 45,000 inhabi- 
tants, is also endeavoring to make a loan, but the money is proposed to 
be used to pay a floating debt. San Juau was long since bonded for 
$600,000 to pay for water installation which at the time of American 
occupation was unfinished . My predecessor advanced to this city $28,000 
from insular revenues, which sufficed to permit the turning on of the 
water. He had the intention to advance a further sum of $32,000 for 
other city improvements: but as the capital is in a better financial con- 
dition than any other town, and abundantly able to provide by taxa- 
tion for all its needs, further advance from insular revenues has been 
refused. The bonds of San Juan, just referred to, carry 7 per cent 
interest and provision for amortization, and were bought by an Ameri- 
can banking house and offered to investors; but the firm Las succeeded 
in placing but an insignificant number, notwithstanding long and 
general advertisement. 

Elsewhere reference is had to municipal elections shortly to be held. 
To what extent the installation of duly elected town councils will add 
to the confidence of investors remains to be demonstrated, but it is 
feared that the immediate effect will not be of great moment. The 
investors will probably prefer to await developments and to take noth- 
ing for granted, They will also note whether the laws of contracts 
and mortgages are such that protection to invested capital will be 
assured, and whether the local courts see to it that these laws are 
faithfully executed. 

Until municipal government and administration is reformed and ele- 
vated to a very much higher plane than now, I see no hope of greatly 
improved social, domestic, or economic conditions. 

The aggregate of all loans from the insular treasury asked for by the 
municipalities amounts to many millions. All have, of course, been 
denied. The applicants for loans are referred to bankers and money 
lenders, but the latter scarcely even consider the requests except In 
the cases mentioned above. 

It is but just to say that at the time the advance referred to was made 
to San Juan the city was without water, and that the money granted 
sufficed for completion of certain works and utilization of the water sys- 
tem, which was a very great advantage to the civil and military inter- 
ests. The advance is regarded as a loan from insular revenues to be 
repaid in the form of water used by the military and civil departments. 
The credit of these municipalities can be established by and through 
the same means as those employed elsewhere by corporations that reach 
a condition of insolvency. 

I also invite attention to the reports herewith of Col. I. D. De Kussy, 
Eleventh Infantry; Lieut. Ool. O. O. C. Carr, Fifth Cavalry; Maj. Albert 
L. Meyer, Eleventh Infantry; Maj. Francis D. Mansfield, Eleventh 
Infantry; Maj. W. A. Glassford, signal officer of the department; Capt. 
H. S. Bishop, Fifth Cavalry; Capt. C. H. Watts, Fifth Cavalry; Capt. 
W. S. Schuyler, Fifth Cavalry; Capt. Eben Swift, Fifth Cavalry; Capt. 
F. W. Foster, Fifth Cavalry; Capt, Harry L. Lee, Eleventh Infantry; 
First Lieut. Seaborn G. Chiles, Eleventh Infantry; First Lieut. Aionzo 
Gray^ Fifth Cavalry. 

12558 5 



66 REPORT OF BRIGADJER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 

FINANCIAL STATISTICS. 

In tlie appendix there will also be found some interesting statistics 
respecting the financial operations of the military government. 

Tbe accounts of customs receipts and expenditures have been care- 
fully audited by the inspector-general of the department and by Mr. 
Barre, an auditor sent here from the United States. 

In the early jferiod of occupation the orders for expenditures were 
given direct to the collectors of customs, and it has not been possible 
to verify the several applications of funds as e.osely as has been done 
since the installation of the present auditing system; but there does 
not appear to be any doubt that all such funds were properly applied, 
considering the stress of circumstances. 

It has not been easy to state the receipts and expenditures of the 
internal revenues as much in detail and in conformity with our methods 
as might be wished. The local method of keeping accounts was intri- 
cate and difficult of comprehension by our officers. The papers here- 
with give as full details as could be secured, and a critical audit of 
these accounts now being made may result in some minor changes. 

In this connection special attention is invited to the reports and 
exhibits prepared by Major Heyl, the able inspector-general of the 
department, whose assistance has been of very great value to me. 

The receipts and expenditures under the military government may 
be thus classified: 

RECEIVED. 

From customs collections $1, 238, 535. 93 

From internal taxation 1, 089, 021. 94 

$2, 327, 557. 87 

DISBURSED. 

Account customs collections 727, 096. 40 

Account internal revenues 1, 033, 424. 45 

1,760,520.85 

Balance on hand June 30, 1899 567,037.02 

This balance is made up of the following: 

Account of customs „ 511, 439. 53 

Account of internal revenue 55, 597. 49 

567, 037. 02 

Of the balance stated above there was on June 30 — 

Balance in hands of military offi cers 30, 508. 66 

Balance in hands of customs collectors 30, 478. 04 

Balance in hands of treasurer of Puerto Rico (deposited 

withDe Ford & Co.) 450,452.83 

Total on account of customs 511, 439. 53 

On account of internal revenue 36, 036. 01 

In debentures, account internal revenue 19, 561. 48 

567, 037. 02 

The figures respecting internal revenue are taken from the statement 
of the civil secretary and are subject to correction through critical 
audit. 

Attention is invited to the magnitude of the figures for internal-reve- 
nue receipts for the period from October 18 to June 30, over 11,250,000. 
During the current fiscal year the collections from this source will be 
very small as compared to the last year's receipts. The reason for this 
has already been explained. Under present conditions, and until a 
new tax scheme is worked out, the receipts from all internal taxes will 
not amount to more than $500,000. 



REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 67 

From October 18, 1898, to June 30, 1899 (eight and twelve thirtieth 
months), the expenditures of internal revenue amounted to $1,033,424, 
which is at the rate of $123,026 per mouth, or $1,470,312 per annum. 
The expenditures of customs receipts were $727,096, which is at the 
rate of $80,558 per month, or $1,038,096 per anuum. The total average 
monthly expenditure from the two was, therefore, $209,584, which would 
give a yearly total of $2,515,008. In the present year's budget the esti- 
mated average monthly expenditure is $101,943, which would indicate a 
yearly saving, as compared with the above, of $571,692. The expendi- 
tures for the first three mouths of the current year have been much less 
than the estimated average monthly rate for the year. 

THE HURRICANE OF AUGUST 8. 

On the morning of the 7th of August, 1899, the United States Weather 
Bureau, through its branch establishment here, announced the approach 
of a cyclonic disturbance, and the danger signal was ordered to be 
hoisted at substations of the Bureau at Ponce and Mayaguez. At the 
same time I directed that the danger be reported to all commanding 
officers of posts throughout the island. 

There had been no serious or destructive storm in Puerto Eico since 
1867, and the inhabitants had ceased to feel great concern on account 
of tropical tempests. Except at seaports, little heed was given to the 
caution, and in some cases the telegraph operators failed to receive or 
to promptly deliver the warning messages. 

The vortex of the cyclone appears to have traversed the island through- 
out its whole length, from about Humacao to Mayaguez, and its path 
was a scene of very great devastation. The wind must have attained 
nearly its greatest observed velocity, but there is no authentic record. 
The anemometer on the Weather Bureau building at San Juan was 
blown away after having registered a velocity of from 70 to 80 miles an 
hour. But this port was not in the track of the greatest disturbance. 
The gale struck the island at Humacao about midnight of August 7, 
and furiously blew all the rest of that night and well into the next day, 
while at Mayaguez the violence was not great until 9 o'clock on the 
morning of the 8th. But as the latter town was under the lee of high 
mountains, it suffered much less than it would have done had it been 
higher or not thus protected. 

Most of the habitations in the track of the center of the cyclone 
were entirely smashed and the debris strewn all over the country. The 
full reports of the loss of life bring the number of deaths up to 2,700. 

The wind worked dreadful havoc with nearly everything useful to 
man. Besides the mortality, which was appalling, the material damage 
was almost beyond belief. But the greatest loss of life resulted, not 
from the wind, but from the terrible downfall of rain that immediately 
followed. The precipitation in a few hours of 11£ inches was reported 
at one place, and the volume of rain must have averaged quite 6 inches 
throughout the island, for the fall was not less severe in districts away 
from the vortex than in its actual track. 

Added to the horror of the situation there came with the gale on the 
southern coast a tidal wave which submerged large areas with sea 
water and swept away what the wind and the rain had spared, in some 
places completing the destruction. 

Every river bed or bottom of a land depression was a roaring torrent. 
The wind uprooted myriads of trees, and the rain, entering and perme- 
ating the soil, loosened it, and on steep declivities resulted in avalanches 



68 REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 

of earth, mud, and water, covering wide areas and piling- up the debris 
in the ravines and gorges. 

The principal industry in the elevated portions of the island is coffee 
growing. There hue coflee fincas were dreadfully damaged. The 
trees were at the beginning of the time for the maturing of the fruit. 
Coffee is only successfully cultivated in the shade of larger tiees or 
plants, which are planted and cultivated for their protection to the 
shrubs that produce the berries. The large trees of course went down, 
smashing those they were designed to protect, and a gale tore oil the 
green berries or uprooted the bushes. The material loss to the coffee 
growers can as yet only be estimated, but the most conservative figures 
received place this year's crop at one-third of the normal. 

The exported portion of the crop for 1897 sold for about 13,000,000 
pesos. The promise for this year had encouraged the belief that the 
value of the crop would not be smaller. 

If these figures are accurate, and there is every reason to believe 
them so to be, the loss in this one crop for the current year will reach 
nearly 9,000,000 pesos. The losses of other property, especially sugar 
mills, cane, dwellings, roads, and bridges, will bring the total to an 
immense sum. 

Regard being had to the fact that five years must elapse before the 
coffee trees and their shade can be replanted and reach a normal bearing 
conditiou,the total loss can not be safely placed below 25,000,000 pesos 
for Puerto Eico on account of this hurricane. 

The shipping in port suffered little, as the warnings sufficed to per- 
mit of protective measures being taken. 

Special attention is invited to the able report herewith of Major 
Hoff, chief surgeon of the department, who was placed at the head 
of a board of natives and Americans to concert and concentrate relief 
measures. The work that was assigned to this board, and especially 
to its principal executive officer, has been of very great magnitude and 
most onerous. That many thousands of human lives have been saved 
through the bounty of the United States Government and people can 
not be doubted. 

The greatest difficulty is encountered in discriminating between those 
who are really needy and those who pretend to be so. While it is pos- 
sible that every ration has not fed a really needy person, it is also cer- 
tain that very little food has failed to reach those who were much 
pinched by hunger. Those who deserved assistance and have failed to 
receive it are very few indeed. 

It has been found to be practicable to cut down the aggregate of food 
issued from about 1,000 tons per week to less than 500 tons. Constant 
and progressive reductions are being made in the issues as the people 
reach better conditions and reproduction of native fruits is accomplished. 

The difficulties which have been encountered in distributing the food 
are of very great proportions. While all the available means of trans- 
port by land and water belonging to the quartermaster's department 
were utilized, resort was had to the local facilities for conveyance, and 
ox carts and pack animals were secured. 

Every ] iost commander became a relief inspector. Depots were estab- 
lished at all points of central supply. The depots were filled from the 
San Juan base. In every municipality was a subdepot under an officer 
or a noncommissioned officer, and food was distributed through auxiliary 
relief committees composed of the best citizens. 

Two months have now passed since the bursting of the heavens and 
the wrecking of this fair island, resulting in a shocking tragedy. Every- 



REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 69 

thing is again green and smiling on the face of nature, but back in the 
interior are yet unknown thousands upon thousands of families who 
have as yet no resource for to-morrow save that bounty of the great 
American nation which has poured out its wealth to feed the hungering 
and help poor humanity to exist. 

FUTURE CIVIL GOVERNMENT. 

Iii discussing this most important subject all aspects of it should be 
considered, and I approach it with misgivings and much hesitation, 
preferring to be excused from attempting any presentation of this ques- 
tion, but the orders from the Secretary of War require it. 

With better facilities and more time for reflection and study it is quite 
possible that conclusions would be reached varying greatly from those 
now submitted. I therefore ask that this qualification and my confessed 
inability to master this profound question be noted. 

The annals of my country furnished no closely analogous precedents 
that could aid me, and my preoccupations have been such as to leave 
little time for a critical study of political economy. 

In some of the great universities a professorship of civics has been 
established, where instruction is given in subjects such as ethics, civil 
policy, law in its applications involving the interests of society, the laws 
of the wealth of nations, and the history of civic development and move- 
ment. Preparation by a course of study of these subjects under the 
instruction afforded by our great educational institutions was, unfortu- 
nately, not possible. 

The problems confronting the United States, respecting its newly 
acquired islands and their future government, can only be solved by an 
application of those wise rules and principles that are the product of 
human experience. To find modern examples of the application of those 
rules to tropical states, colonies, dependencies, or possessions we must 
turn to the experience of other nations. 

It will not be profitable to study historical precedents unless there be 
points of resemblance to Puerto Eico in natural conditions, population, 
and history. Some of the States which have been formed from what we 
are accustomed to call " Spanish-America," and some of the islands dis- 
covered, settled, and populated under Spanish, English, and French 
domination, have many points of resemblance to Puerto Eico, although 
it is probable there is none of these save Chile, at date of revolt from 
Spanish rule, which had so large a proportion of its inhabitants of the 
Caucasian race as Puerto Eico now has. 

The only American tropical regions where the conditions are at all 
analogous are Venezuela, Colombia, Guiana, Central America, and the 
Greater and Lesser Antilles. But the Spanish States of South and Cen- 
tral America were very sparsely settled and all of them had a large 
Indian population, while Puerto Eico is densely populated and has no 
Indian blood. In Haiti the negro very largely predominated, and the 
same was true of Barbados, Martinique, Guadaloupe, and Jamaica, and 
indeed nearly all the others save Cuba. The countries which most 
nearly resembled Puerto Eico as respects the nationality of the inhabit- 
ants, climate, soil, and government at the time they were lost by Spain 
are that portion of Santo Domingo now known as the Dominican Eepub- 
lic and the island of Trinidad. The foimer became an independent 
State and the latter was ceded to the English Crown — one a few years 
before and the other about the beginning of the present century. Both 



70 REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 

had Spanish laws and institutions. In each there were a considerable 
number of negro slaves. In neither were there Indians. The Roman 
Catholic religion was established in both, and other denominations were 
not allowed. The natural prodnetions of both islands were similar, 
sugar being the most important, as it was until recently in Puerto Rico. 

In 1797 Trinidad was captured by the English and entered upon a 
new career under local Spanish laws, which were preserved and prop- 
erly administered by Great Britain. Not so, however, with the island 
of Santo Domingo, which at the beginning of the century achieved its 
independence under Toussaint L'Ouverture. 

France endeavored to recover her part of the island, but was unsuc- 
cessful. In 1844 the eastern or Spanish part became independent, but 
later Spain tried to recover it, failed, and since then the Republic of 
Dominica has been unmolested in its career save by civil wars and some 
strife with Haiti and Spain, but for more than thirty years the inhabit- 
ants of Santo Domingo have been demonstrating their incapacity for 
self government. There have been a half dozen civil wars and over- 
turnings, the last but a few days ago. 

Statistics show that the negro blood is not very much more in evi- 
dence in Dominica than in Puerto Rico, and the persons of white blood 
are of the same race and have been controlled by the same codes and 
institutions that have prevailed here. Had Dominica been a depend- 
ency of some strong and well-administered government, it is probable 
that much of this civil strife would have been prevented. But had it 
had home rule, such as is accorded to Canada, Australia, New Zealand, 
and the Territories of the United States, there would still have been 
struggles for preponderance of one party or faction over the other, which 
could only have been prevented from becoming sanguinary by the mili- 
tary intervention of the supreme government. It does not seem to me 
possible that the Dominicans would have furnished an example of 
autonomic government well administered. They seem to know of but 
one use to make of political privileges, and that is to erect and maintain 
a despotism or a government of a class for the benefit of its adherents. 

This so-called republic has an area more than five times as great as 
Puerto Pico, a soil of exceptionable richness, adapted to all tropical 
productions, a salubrious climate, a population containing many highly 
educated and intelligent men of Spanish origin, and yet we see what 
misuse has been made of their opportunities, which were of the fairest 
in the world. 

Under a good government, well administered, this little State could 
as well support a population of 5,000,000 as Puerto Rico can 1,000,000, 
but so great has been the turbulence, and even chaos, that immigration 
and industrial development have been prevented, and Dominica has 
been cited all over the world as a typical example of the incapacity of 
Spanish-Americans to govern themselves. The contrast to Dominica 
furnished by Trinidad is so noteworthy that a further mention may be 
justified respecting the latter. 

The inhabitants of Trinidad when the island was conquered by General 
Abercromby in 1797 were largely of Spanish birth and parentage, 
although there were many French who had emigrated thither from 
Santo Domingo following the outbreak in 1793. There were also many 
thousand negro slaves. Its area is about 1,750 square miles (the largest 
of the British West India Islands, except Jamaica), or a little less than 
one third the size of Puerto Rico. At the date of the conquest it was 
inhabited somewhat less densely than Puerto Rico, which then had about 
36 inhabitants to the square mile. 



REPORT OP BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 71 

The population of Trinidad has increased to upward of 300,000, giv- 
ing- it 170 per square mile. Its revenues exceed $3,000,000, its exports 
exceed by one-third the same from Puerto Rico, its government is one of 
order and stability, and crime does not go unpunished. The number 
of children attending school is more than three times as large, in propor- 
tion to population, as here. They have a royal college and several 
schools for higher education. All religious denominations are free, 
good roads abound, industries are diversified and are being constantly 
extended. 

If left uncontrolled and free, Trinidad would probably have supplied 
another example of a chaotic government. It had the most favorable 
elements for such a result — Spanish, French, negro slaves, "maroons" 
from the neighboring Spanish and French possessions. Besides, its 
waters were infested with privateers, who were no better than pirates. 
Home rule was fortunately not accorded to this island, but instead it 
was governed at first by military officers directly. It is now a Crown 
colony, having an executive council of five official and three native 
appointed members, the governor presiding. It has also a legislative 
council of 21 members, 10 of whom are appointed by the governor and 
11 are elected. The governor presides over this council. Only those 
who possess a stated property or income qualification, or who are mem- 
bers of the liberal professions, can vote at elections for councilmen. 

There is not anywhere in the world a tropical island having a happier 
and more contented population, nor one where life, liberty, and the pur- 
suit of happiness of the humble native, the freed slaves, and the East 
Indian "cooley," as well as the rich and powerful, are more firmly 
secured in the enjoyment of all their natural and acquired rights. 
While the wage rate of the laborer is small, gauged by United States 
standards, taxation is so adjusted and revenues are so expended that 
the poorer laboring classes have many advantages lacking in many 
other islands, Puerto Rico not excepted. 

The conditions in Jamaica and mauy other British islands not differ- 
ing materially from Trinidad in regard to orderly government are not 
closely analogous to Puerto Rico iu other respects. The inhabitants of 
many of these islands are principally negroes. In Jamaica, out of a 
population of about 700,000, only 2^ per cent are white. In Barbados 
about 9 per cent are white. Trinidad is the largest of all the Lesser 
Antilles, and, as above stated, was chosen for comparison with Puerto 
Rico and Santo Domingo because most of the natural and social con- 
ditions are, or were, more nearly the same as in Puerto Rico. 

In regard to taxation, all the British islands are similarly administered. 
Each is self-sustaining and has its own export, import, and internal 
taxes, the same as though it were an independent government. In some 
of these places, where sugar was the principal reliance, the industrial 
and economic conditions are unsatisfactory. The United Kingdom — 
adhering to free trade — can supply herself with the bounty-fed sugar 
of continental Europe at a cheaper price than from her own colonies. 
As there is practically no market save the United States for sugar 
grown in the West Indies, that industry has greatly declined save in 
islands where exceptionally favorable conditions exist, and therefore 
business conditions are very unfavorable and unsatisfactory. 

The government of Barbados differs somewhat from the usual Grown 
colony type. The governor and colonial secretary are appointed by 
the Crown. The executive council consists of the governor, the com- 
mander of the troops, the attorney-general, and the president of the 
legislative council, and this last consists of 9 individuals, 4 of whom are 
nominated by the governor from the house of assembly. 



72 REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 

This house consists of 24 members, all elected. There is an execu- 
tive committee connected with the assembly, a sort of committee of 
"ways and means." It introduces all money votes, prepares all esti- 
mates, and initiates all government measures. It consists of the gov- 
ernor, the commander of the troops, the colonial secretary, the attorney- 
general, the president of the executive council, and five members of the 
assembly appointed by the governor. 

The number of qualified electors was 2,208 in 1897, out of a popula- 
tion of about 100,000. 

The assembly, under the direction of the legislative committee, levies 
taxation, votes supplies, and enacts general laws. Business proceeds 
by bills read three times and by resolutions. Private members can 
move an address to the governor in legislative committee, requesting 
that certain acts may be done involving expenditure, or requesting that 
certain bills or resolutions may be presented to the assembly which 
involve expenditure. They may also introduce bills demanding the 
granting of powers to local bodies to raise loans. 

They are 11 parishes or townships, each having a council of from 9 
to 11 members. One member of its council is nominated by the gov- 
ernor and from 8 to 10 are elected members. These councils or vestries 
have power to levy taxes which are subject to confirmation by the gov- 
ernor in council. They have charge of expenditures for the poor and 
the church and of taxes within the parishes. 

It is almost universally admitted that Great Britain has been more 
successful as a colonizing power than any other, and it has seemed to 
be profitable to study her examples of successful colonial management 
of peoples of almost all races. In only one marked instance has that 
policy been recognized as a failure. It grew out of the effort to make 
Euglish colonies a direct source of protit to the Crown. Since the 
American Bevolution this policy has been abandoned and all Euglish 
possessions, save a few military stations, are now maintained and gov- 
erned on a basis of self-support. 

English possessions as respects the character of their government 
may be arranged into three classes: 

First. Those that, like Canada, have a Governor-General appointed 
by the Crown, but have a responsible parliament. 

Second. Those that, like Barbados, have a governor and an executive 
council to determine the general policy, but also have an elected repre- 
sentative legislature which ratifies and confirms the policy of the gov- 
ernor and his council and enacts into laws or amends the measures 
proposed by him and some that are initiated in the assembly. 

Third. Those that, like Mauritius and Jamaica, have a governor and 
an executive council by whom the governmental policy is fixed aud 
determined without reference to an elective assembly. In this case the 
people have practically no voice in their own governmental affairs. 

Were England now holding toward Puerto Kico the position aud rela- 
tions borne by the United States, there is little doubt, judging from her 
past, that she would for the present govern Puerto Pico as strictly as 
she governs her Crown colonies. Nothing would be taken for granted 
respecting claims of capacity for establishing and maintaining home 
rule. The people would have to demonstrate by active practical experi- 
ence their abilities for conducting a representative government — i. e., 
for autonomy such as Canada enjoys — before it would be accorded. It 
also seems certain that Spain would never have accorded autonomical 
government to Cuba and Puerto Eico but for the external pressure that 
was applied in 1895-96 and 1897. 



REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 73 

New Mexico was held under military rule from its cession until 
1850, and the Territory of Arizona dates from 1863. California had 
no Territorial existence, but until it became a State, in 1850, the mili- 
tary was recognized as the governing power. The government of 
Washington was military in its character until 1818, Idaho until 1863, 
Colorado until 1861, Dakota until 1881, Louisiana until 1812, Florida 
until 1822, and Wyoming until 1868. The sovereignty of Hawaii was 
transferred to the United States on August 12, 1898, but as Congress 
has taken no action respecting its future status, the island remains a 
dependency governed by its former laws. It has parted with its sov- 
ereignty as an independent nation, but is as yet in all other respects 
independent, having a duly organized government possessing the execu- 
tive, judicial, and legislative branches. Import duties upon goods 
brought from the United States and from foreign countries are still col- 
lected, and the United States gathers import taxes upon products of 
Hawaii that are not free under treaty stipulations. 

It is my understanding that all the islands recently acquired by 
cession from Spain are held as possessions of the United States, our 
sovereignty over them being complete and the government administered 
by the military. 

In the Philippine Islands a state of war still exists, and but a small 
part of the area is within military control. In Puerto Eico there is not 
only no resistance to the military rule of the President as exercised 
through the Army, but the people welcomed the coming of the Ameri- 
can troops with joy and enthusiasm. After the formal transfer of 
sovereignty by Spain, the first order issued by the commanding general 
directed that the island be administered and governed in accordance 
with local laws in all cases where they were not opposed to the military 
rule or to the Constitution of the United States. The island never had 
a civil governor, nor a legislature worthy of the name. The command- 
ing general therefore became the acting governor, and was endowed 
with legislative powers. The courts were continued in their functions 
and municipal government was not interferred with, save that vacancies 
existing in the town councils were tilled by appointments made by the 
general commanding. 

The people of this island have been long and thoroughly taught an 
unfortunate object lesson, They have seen the island governed and 
exploited by a class in the interest and for the benefit of a few. 

The Spanish governing element has disappeared, but their example 
remains. There is no lack of natives of learning and ability ready to 
take the place of their former masters, step into their vacant shoes, and 
take up the government laid down. And, having power, would they 
not use it as their predecessors did? So long have the people been 
accustomed to this kind of control and absolute subordination that the 
most of them would accept it as a matter of course. 

There is no lack on the part of these people of pretension to all the 
virtues, and as beautiful theories of government as were ever pro- 
pounded by the wisest statesman are put forth continuously. The 
cause of the brotherhood and the rights of man has as ardent expound- 
ers in Puerto Eico as could have been found in France in 1793 or in 
Philadelphia in 1776. There are here a few really public spirited men 
who appear to have ideas of government other than self-seeking, but 
the number is very small. Were the mass of the inhabitants educated 
and possessed of some conception of the duties of citizenship and 
experience in civil government their immediate endowment with rights 
and privileges equal to those enjoyed by our own citizens would be 



74 REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 

gladly recommended. But in view of the profound illiteracy of 85 per 
cent of the people, of their total unfitness to exercise the elective fran- 
chise, of the corruption and maladministration that now characterize 
the affairs of many municipalities, and of the misuse that would almost 
certainly be made of political power by those who would inevitably 
secure it, I can not find warrant or justification for a recommendation 
to now vest Puerto Rico with the faculties and power of self govern- 
ment — an investiture that I think should be withheld until there shall 
have been a plain demonstration of their competence to exercise it. 
AVhen they govern muuicipalties well they may have larger duties 
devolved upon them. 

There are very learned and able men in both parties, and their pro- 
fession of principles and political platforms would receive warm com- 
mendation by the most ardent patriot. But I have no knowledge of 
any country where Latin Americans, released from arbitrary control, 
have established well-ordered representative institutions within a gen- 
eration succeeding their liberation, and there are to-day many unfortu- 
nate illustrations of their incapacity to do so in countries which have 
been independent for sixty or seventy years. History tells us that 
usually in Spanish-American republics there is a revolution or civil war 
at intervals of a few years, except when despotic use of power has pre- 
vented it. In vain have I diligently sought for a reason justifying a 
confidence that Puerto Rico would be able to make a better record. 

There is one fortunate circumstance, and it certainly warrants some 
hope that the latent animosities and tendency to do as others of their 
race have done would be restrained in this island. Puerto Rico, unlike 
Dominica, Haiti, and Venezuela, and many other republics, never 
was, is not, and probably never will be, independent. It is now a 
possession of the United States and must so continue until Congress 
decides otherwise. Whatever government may be given to the island, 
it will be subject to the general control of Congress, and, having no 
local army or navy, it would be without the means and power to carry 
its local issues to the ultimate of armed repression and subjection of 
opponents. In other words, riot or insurrections would be suppressed. 
This is the balance wheel that would prevent the catastrophe which 
has overtaken so many other Spanish-American States newly vested 
with sovereign power. 

But so long as the tendency to abuse of power exists — and there 
seems to be no doubt of its existence — the local government would 
probably be administered purely and solely for the benefit of those 
who, securing political control, would be able through customary and 
familiar methods to retain and misuse it. 

It is with great regret that this statement is made, for the thought of 
continuance of an arbitrary government by the military is repugnant to 
the letter and spirit of our laws and institutions and to the aspirations 
and instincts of our people. 

The knowledge which I possess of the inhabitants of this island, com- 
bined with that derived from a study of historical precedents, where 
failure has always followed an attempt to vest similar populations with 
the functions of independent or responsible government, forces me to the 
conviction that such investiture of Puerto Rico would be a disaster to 
'them and to the best interests of their fair island. 

The conditions here are quite unlike any that existed in the sparsely 
settled western territories which were acquired by purchase from France, 
by cession from Mexico, and uuder convention with Great Britain. 
They are unique in our history. We have no American precedent to 



REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 75 

which we can refer as an aid to decide the form of civil government 
that should be set up. 

Hawaii has remained more than a year without Congressional con- 
sideration of its status. It is not only not a State; it is not even in a 
legal sense a Territory. There seems to be no reason why it could not 
remain indefinitely as now. Its local municipal government is recog- 
nized by Congress and its continuance sanctioned. 

But the continuance of any government enforced by the orders of 
a general of the Army is obnoxious to Americans, and should be 
replaced as soon as possible by one in which the people themselves 
should have a voice, and as complete control as they are capable of 
exercising. The people of Puerto Eico should not wish for more power 
than they were capable of justly and wisely exercising. 

It is assumed that a long continuance of the military government is 
impracticable. It is unnecessary to say that this island is not now 
capable of carrying on such a government as Hawaii is able to main- 
tain. The suggestion is dismissed for its abandonment by the United 
States to entire self-control and independence, for the Puerto Eicans 
do not deserve it. The island was forcibly seized, and the people had 
no voice in determining their own destiny. They do not wish for 
national independence, but instead seek final incorporation with the 
American Union, which it would seem they have a right ultimately to 
expect. This hope may be finally realized if the grave duty devolving 
upon us is well done and events take their natural course. 

I am satisfied the island is not ready for full Territorial autonomy. 
Only a few desire it, and I fear that the great mass of the people feel 
no interest in the question of government at all, beyond the notion they 
had and have that with American sovereignty would come free trade 
and high prices for labor and produce, bringing general prosperity. 
They have been disappointed and loudly complain, but it seems to an 
observer that only stolid indifference is shown by the lower classes as 
to their political future. The business class is strongly opposed to Ter- 
ritorial government, for they see in store only maladministration and 
misgovernment, and taxes misapplied, if full control is now given to 
the natives. 

Probably one-eighth of all the inhabitants are foreign. Among them 
there must be well on to 100,000 souls, natives of the peninsula, the 
Canaries, the Balearic Islands, and Corsica, nearly all of whom may 
wish to preserve their foreign nationality. A very large part of the 
mercantile and proprietor class are Spanish, and the feeling manifested 
toward them by the native Puerto Eicans causes the foreigners to fear 
that oppression and injustice would be their lot if the former should 
have full power. Unless foreigners here renounce their foreign nation- 
ality, and probably very few of them will do so at present, they can 
not take part in the civil government; but they are entitled to the pro- 
tection which is guaranteed to them by treaty, and which is always 
accorded under the unwritten rules of international comity. 

Being called upon to submit a recommendation for a governmental 
measure adapted to this island, I have the honor to propose the follow- 
ing scheme for a temporary government, to be established on 

[ date] : 



76 REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 

PROJECT OF GOVERNMENT. 

The island of Puerto Rico to be styled a Dependency and placed 
under the executive control of the President, through the Secretary of 
State of the United States. 

I. This contemplates an organization to consist of a governor, an 
executive council, a judiciary, and later on a legislative assembly. 

II. The chief executive of the dependency to be the governor, 
reporting direct to the Secretary of State of the United States. 

III. The administrative duties to be assigned to a secretary, an 
attorney-general, a treasurer, an auditor, a commissioner of public 
works, lands and agriculture, a commissioner of posts and telegraphs, 
and a commissioner of education. 

IV. The executive council to consist of the governor, the seven 
above-named chiefs of administrative offices, and four other members 
chosen by the governor from the legislative assembly. 

V. The legislative assembly to consist of thirty-five assemblymen — 
i. e., one from each municipality or group of municipalities, according 
to population, all chosen as hereinafter provided. 

VI. A town council for each municipality. 

VII. A comisario or commissioner for each barrio or ward. 

VIII. The judiciary to consist of a supreme court, a United States 
Federal court, five district courts, and municipal courts. 

IX. The supreme court to consist of a chief justice, two associate 
justices, a prosecuting attorney, a secretary, and a marshal. 

X. The United States Federal court to consist of two judges, a prose- 
cuting attorney, a clerk of the court, and a marshal. 

XI. The district courts, five in number, each to consist of two judges, 
a prosecuting attorney, a secretary, and a sheriff. 

XII. The municipal courts, one for each municipality, each to consist 
of a judge and a clerk. 

The governor and official members of the executive council, the offi- 
cers of the supreme court and those of the Federal court, all to be 
appointed by the President of the United States, with confirmation by 
the Senate. 

The political division of the island to be five districts or counties, 
corresponding to the existing judicial districts, each composed of 
municipal districts aud represented in the legislative assembly by seven 
assemblymen. 

There will be seven or more municipalities in each district; if more 
than seven the smaller ones would be so grouped and combined as 
respects population that representation in the assembly would be as 
nearly equal as practicable. 

The organic law should provide for the ultimate consolidation of 
municipalities into, say, 35, with population as nearly equal as may be. 
Each municipality to have full autonomy and its government adminis- 
tered by an alcalde and town council elected by popular suffrage the 
same as the members of the legislative assembly. 

DUTIES OF THE GOVERNOR. 

He would attend and preside at all meetings of the council. In case 
of his absence on account of illness or for other grave cause, the secretary 
to act as governor; and should the latter also be absent or disabled, the 
attorney-general to so act. The governor to pass upon and dispose of 



REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 77 

all routine matters and correspondence, without reference thereof to the 
council, and also in all matters too urgent to admit of their advice being 
given within the time in which it would be necessary for him to act in 
respect thereto, but in all such urgent cases, the governor, as soon as 
possible, to communicate to the council the measures he may have 
adopted, with the reasons therefor. 

The council to meet at least once each week, the day and hour being 
fixed by the governor. The ex-officio members present to take preced- 
ence in the order above stated, and the members appointed by the 
governor to take rank next below the ex officio members, in the order 
in which their names appear in the order of appointment. The ex-officio 
members to hold office until their successors should be appointed, or 
during the pleasure of the President of the United States, and the 
appointed members to hold office during the time of the existence of 
the legislative assembly. 

The"eouncil not to be authorized to proceed to the dispatch of any 
business, unless it be duly summoned by authority of the governor, 
and at least six of the members, exclusive of the governor or presid- 
ing officer, are present throughout the whole sitting. 

A clerk for the council, appointed by the governor, to be required to 
keep a true and exact journal, or minutes, of all the proceedings, and 
for this purpose to be allowed the necessary clerical assistance; and at 
each meeting the proceedings of the meeting last held to be read over 
and approved or amended as the case might require, before proceeding 
to the dispatch of other business. 

Twice a year a full transcript of all the said minutes for the preced- 
ing half year to be transmitted to the Secretary of State in Washing- 
ton. All orders in council to be published in the Official Gazette. 

Except in the cases above mentioned, the governor to be required, iu 
the execution of his powers and authority, to consult with the execu- 
tive council, unless he believes that the public service would sustain 
material prejudice by his so doing. But, if any member should in 
writing suggest the submission of any matter upon which the governor 
may have acted, or may have reserved action, independently of the 
council, it would be competent for that member to require that there be 
recorded upon the minutes the written application together with the 
answer of the governor to the same. In case the governor should take 
such independent action upon any matter, it would be his duty to imme- 
diately report the grounds and reasons for his action to the Secretary 
of State in Washington; and to have entered in the minutes of the 
council a full statement of the grounds or reasons set forth by the 
member or members for requesting reference to the council of the sub- 
ject of the request. 

The governor, upon resolution of the legislative assembly, in his 
discretion and with the advice of the executive council, to have the 
power to remit and order the repayment of any duties raised, levied, col- 
lected, and paid into the Treasury. 

Subject to the review of the executive council, the governor, in his 
discretion and in cases of emergency, to have the power to authorize 
the expenditure, out of funds voted in the estimates, of a sum not to 
exceed $100 at one time. 

The appointment to office of all persons, whose pay or emoluments 
are voted by the assembly and do not exceed $1,200 per annum, to be 
made by the governor with the concurrence of the executive council: 
Provided, That the secretary and the employees of the legislative assem- 
bly be appointed by the speaker of the assembly. 



78 REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 

In cases of riot or disturbance of the peace, and in cases of imminent 
danger to the peace of the community, the governor, upon the recom- 
mendation of two-thirds of all of the members of the executive coun- 
cil, to have the power to call upon the commanding officer of the United 
States forces stationed in Puerto Pico for the assistance of the troops 
to quell the riot or disorder, and such commanding officer to be required 
to promptly respond to the call made by furnishing the troops called 
out, the facts to be immediately reported to the Secretary of State in 
Washington. 

DUTIES OF THE EXECUTIVE COUNCIL. 

The sphere of control of the council to include: 

The transaction of public financial business. 

The consideration of ways and means. 

Advising with the governor on any measure that he may deem expe- 
dient to bring before the legislative assembly. 

The conduct of public works. 

The control and management of public institutions. 

The initiation in the legislative assembly of money votes by bill, res- 
olution, or otherwise. 

To prepare estimates in detail of the probable expenditures and rev- 
enues of Puerto Rico for each fiscal j r ear. 

To prepare and submit supplementary estimates. 

To consider all bills or resolutions passed by the legislative assembly, 
and to recommend to the governor his approval or veto of the same. 

To execute all conveyances, leases, contracts, or documents, and to 
sue and be sued in the name of the Secretary. 

To lease for such time and on such conditions as shall be fixed by the 
legislative assembly, such portion of the public property and lands, not 
including public lauds in the control of the War Department, as may 
be applied to a useful purpose in the interest of the public. But all 
leases of such property and lands for any term more than five years, 
including all extensions of the same, to require the approval of the 
legislative assembly by formal resolution. 

To publish three times in the Official Gazette all laws, resolutions, 
and appropriations passed and made by the legislative assembly, such 
publication to be a sufficient announcement of the enactment of said 
laws, resolutions, and appropriations. 

DUTIES OF THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY. 

The members of the legislative assembly to be elected for two years 
by popular suffrage, the elective franchise to be restricted as herein- 
after provided. The elections for assemblymen to take place on the 
first Tuesday in April of each second year. 

The first election for assemblymen to be held under the direction and 
control of the military governor of Puerto Rico, it to be his duty to see 
that orderly elections be held in all municipalities for the purpose of 
choosing members of the legislative assembly. Subsequent elections 
to be held under the direction of the governor in executive council. 

The following qualifications to be required of a resident of Puerto Rico 
in order to vote in elections for assemblymen : 

(1) To be a male, over 21 years of age, an actual resident of the 
municipality for at least six months and of the island for at least two 
years preceding the election. 

(2) To be able to read and write, or else to be a taxj)ayer of record 
in his own municipality. 



REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 79 

(3) Foreigners to fulfill foregoing qualifications, and in addition to 
have renounced under oath their foreign allegiance and declared their 
intention to become citizens of the United States (Puerto Rico?). 

The assembly to meet annually on the third Tuesday in April of each 
year, the sessions to be numbered consecutively. The assembly to be 
the sole judge of the qualification of its members; to elect its own pre- 
siding officer, who would be styled and designated "The speaker" and 
be addressed as "Mr. Speaker." The speaker to appoint a secretary 
and the necessary employees. 

The assemblymen to be entitled to pay at the rate of $5 per day for 
forty days' continuous session in each year (not including Sundays, 
national holidays, and Puerto Rican feast days). If the session should 
be extended beyond forty days, except as above noted, no pay or emol- 
ument to be allowed for such additional time. 

In case of absence from meetings of the assembly without satisfac- 
tory excuse, the assemblyman to forfeit his. pay for the time of such 
absence. 

No mileage or personal expenses to be allowed assemblymen. 

A majority of the whole number of assemblymen to constitute a 
quorum for business. In the event that the speaker should be absent 
for any cause, the assembly to choose a speaker pro tempore. 

The speaker of the assembly and the clerk to sign all bills and reso- 
lutions, and a committee of the assembly appointed by the speaker to 
deliver all such bills to the governor in executive council. 

All bills or resolutions to be either approved or vetoed within ten 
days of their receipt by the governor in council. Should he approve 
the measure submitted, he would immediately so notify the house of 
assembly in session. Should he veto the bill, he would return it with 
his objections. In such case a two-thirds vote of all the members of the 
assembly could pass the bill over the governor's veto, and in that event 
it would become a law notwithstanding his objections. 

The initiation by individual members of the assembly of all money 
appropriations — either annual, supplementary, or special — by bill, reso- 
lution, or otherwise to be forbidden, for such initiation would rest exclu- 
sively with the governor in executive council, but the house of assembly 
would have and exercise its undoubted and exclusive right to withhold, 
reduce, or grant such aids and supplies, and to direct, limit, and appoint 
the ends, purposes, conditions, limitations, and qualifications of such 
grants, aids, and supplies, but it would not»be competent for the house 
of assembly to increase any of the items or the aggregate of any estimates 
submitted by the governor in executive council. 

The right of individual members of the house of assembly to intro- 
duce any bill, resolution, or any other measure of legislation is not to 
be prevented, impeded, or restricted, provided such bill, resolution, or 
measure of legislation does not create any charge upon the revenues of 
the island or in terms provide for the expenditure of public money. 

All laws would be styled "ordinances," and the enacting words to be 
"Enacted by the governor of Puerto Rico, with the advice and consent 
of the legislative assembly thereof." 

Legislative business to proceed by bills, read three times, and by 
resolutions. Individual assemblymen to move an address to the gov- 
ernor in executive council requesting that certain acts be done. They 
would also introduce bills providing for the granting of powers to 
municipal bodies to raise loans. 

The legislative power to extend to all rightful subjects of legislation, 
not inconsistent with the Constitution of the United States locally 



80 REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 

applicable: no private charters, franchises, privileges, or immunities to 
be granted without the authority of the Congress of the United States. 
The assembly to be able, by special acts, to permit persons to associate 
themselves together as corporate bodies for general manufacturing, 
agriculture, and other industrial pursuits, aud for conducting the 
business of insurance, savings banks, banks of discount and deposit, 
but not of issue, loan, trust, and guaranty associations, cemeteries, 
railways, wagon roads, vessels, irrigation ditches, colleges, churches, 
seminaries, libraries, aud divorces. Xo loan to be raised that would 
make the total indebtedness of the dependency more than 7 per cent of 
the value of the taxable property. Xo loan to be authorized that would 
exceed in any one year 1 per cent of the taxable property. 

It would be within the power aud authority of the President of the 
United States to disallow, repeal, alter, or annul any order of the gov- 
ernor in council, and any law or ordinance passed by the assembly; 
such disallowance, repeal, alteration, or amendment to take effect from 
the time when the same shall be promulgated in Puerto Rico. 

The duties of the heads of administrative offices would comprise, 
for- 

The secretary. — To see that all proceedings of the executive council 
be properly kept, and all executive orders, as well as all laws and reso- 
lutions passed by the assembly, be duly promulgated. 

To furnish the Secretary of State of the United States, the President 
of the Senate of the United States, and the Speaker of the House of 
Representatives of the United States one copy each of all such laws aud 
orders. 

To furnish the Secretary of State of the United States a copy of the 
minutes of proceedings of the executive council. 

To act as governor in case of the death, disability, or absence of the 
executive. 

To have charge of all correspondence with municipal town councils 
and of all consular correspondence. 

To furnish to the governor an annual report upon the general condi- 
tion of the dependency: and to perform many other duties, not neces- 
sary to specify, that would also devolve upon him. 

The attorney-general. — To perform the ordinary duties of that office as 
is customary in the States of the Union; also to have general authority 
and supervision over all prisons and penitentiaries, and over notaries 
and escheat of lands. 

In case of the death or disability of both the governor and the secre- 
tary, to act as governor. 

The treasurer. — To have supervision of all matters respecting taxes 
and the collection of the same, licenses, corporations, copartnerships, 
trade statistics, newspapers, conveyances, patents, trade-marks and 
labels, bonds of fidelity, etc. 

The auditor. — To have control of all matters respecting the auditing 
of accounts and the expenditures of public funds. 

The commissoner of public worTcs, etc. — To have supervision of all 
public works, pounds, weights aud measures, buildings and building 
regulations, explosives, eminent domain, markets, parks, cemeteries, 
pilots, harbor police, quarantine establishments, light-houses, buoys, 
harbor lines and police, the leasing of lands and buildings, mines, agri- 
cultural experiment stations, etc. 

The commissioner of postal service and telegraphs. — To have charge 
of these services throughout the island. 

The commissioner of education. — To have supervision over all matters 
concerning public instruction in Puerto Rico. 



REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 81 

The appointment and employment of all persons whose salary or 
compensation is less than 81,200 per annum would be in the discretion 
of the heads of departments in which those persons should be employed, 
but the rates of compensation of all officers and employes appointed by 
the President would be fixed by him, while the rates of compensation 
of all other officers and employees would be fixed and determined by 
the assembly: provided, always, that the salary of no such officer or 
employe would exceed that recommended by the executive council. 

There would be a quarantine officer, presumably appointed by the 
President and working under the general supervision of the Marine- 
Hospital Service. 

The expectation is that the number of municipalities would be reduced 
to thirty-five, corresponding to the number of assemblymen ; but should 
that result be not attained, then the combined vote of two or more ot 
the smaller municipalities would be necessary to choose an assem- 
blyman. 

Of course the above is but an outline of the proposed government. 
To supply the requisite verbiage and to put the whole into chapters 
and sections would require much time and further study. I have 
attempted to give only the framework. 

The degree of autonomy or home rule that this project contemplates 
is very much broader than that accorded now to the English Crown 
colonies, and approaches to that accorded to Canada, Australia, Xew 
Zealand, and the Cape Settlements. It provides for as large a measure 
of self-government as the Puerto Eicans are capable of using wisely. 
When it is demonstrated by a few years of experience — if it should be — 
that these powers can be wisely extended, it will be easy to broaden 
them, and such extension will be very much easier than later to curtail 
and restrict them. 

While this proposed scheme bears some resemblance to that under 
which some English colonies are now administered, there are many 
points in which it differs. The bill "To j)rovide a territorial govern- 
ment for Hawaii, 7 ' printed in Senate Document Xo. 16, Fifty-fifth Con- 
gress, third session, supplied some features which have been incorpo- 
rated, but as a whole it does not bear a very close resemblance to any 
existing system of government. 

This proposition contemplates a civil government pure and simple, 
the military remaining here returning to the duties they perform in the 
States and Territories of the Union and only intervening in local 
affairs when, under dire necessity, called out by the Executive, as has 
often been done in the States of the Union. 

The question of salaries is left to be worked out when and if the gen- 
eral project should be deemed worthy of further consideration by the 
Department or by Congress, but, excepting the governor, no official 
should receive more than 84,000 per annum. 

Begarding general legislation by Congress, it is recommended that 
the trade between the United States and the island be left as free as 
possible, and that the customs revenues collected here be left to the 
island temporarily as an income for local expenditure. As soon as a 
new local internal-revenue tax law can be framed and put into opera- 
tion, the custom-house collections would inure to the General Treasury, 
but for a few years it will be very difficult to balance the budget with- 
out this aid. 

The proposition is to make the island self-supporting, and to main- 
tain all services here, including posts and quarantine, as a charge 
against local revenues; to extend the existing wagon roads and rail- 
12558 6 



82 REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 

roads; to build hospitals, schools, and asylums; to deepen the harbors; 
to extend or create dock facilities; and to foster and promote the gen- 
eral welfare by utilizing for this purpose all available resources as well 
as the proceeds of wisely-placed loans. 

In the foregoing project of civil government I have suggested the 
three coordinate branches — executive, legislative, and judicial — pro- 
posing ultimately to include in the legislature a lower house or assem- 
bly, but I do not wish to be understood as proposing tbe immediate 
creation of this body, and this for reasons stated in the preceding- 
pages. For the present the governor and executive council should 
control legislation. When experience shall have shown that the people 
comprehend the gravity of the duties and obligations of self-government 
will be soon enough to establish the lower house. 

I have previously referred to the special merits and able assistance 
in the discharge of civil duties rendered by Maj. John Van R. Hoff, 
chief surgeon of the Department, and Maj. Charles H. Heyl, inspector- 
general. It is but due to iVtaj. A. C. Sharpe, acting judge-advocate of 
the Department, that I should place upon record my sense of official 
and personal recognition of the services of this very able officer. His 
knowledge of civil and criminal law has been of the utmost importance. 

Capt. George T. Laughorne, Twenty-seventh U. S. Volunteer Infan- 
try, has been with me as an aid during the time of my command here. 
He has rendered very valuable services and this official recognition of 
them is his due. 

Lieut. Col. William P. Hall, the adjutant-general of the Department, 
has acted as chief of staff, and intelligence and ability have character- 
ized his services. 

In closing, attention is invited to a quotation from the report to the 
President of the Hawaiian commissioners, dated December 2, 1898, 
printed on pages 17 and 18 of Senate Document No. 16, Fifty-fifth Con- 
gress, third session. It is as follows: 

Much has been said to the effect that the policy or scheme of government for the 
Hawaiian Islands will he taken and accepted as an index or precedent to be followed 
in the plan of government of Puerto Rico and the Philippines. 

* *• ■* # *■ * * 

It can not be said that the Puerto Ricans or the Filippinos are at all familar with 
our system of government, or with any other based on the principles of liberty. 

The underlying theory of our government is the right of self-government, and a 
people must be fitted for self-government before they can be trusted with the respon- 
sibilities and duties of free government. 

These remarks are made to negative the idea that, because the people of Hawaii 
can, in the judgment of the commission, be consistently given self-government to an 
extent almost equaling tbat given the people of the United States, it can be safely 
inferred that other insular possessions that the United States have, or may acquire 
by treaty with Spain, can be granted equal freedom in government. 

Very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

Geo. W. Davis, 
Brigadier- General, U. 8. V., Commanding. 

The Adjutant-General of the Army, 

Washington, D. C, 



circular. 

Headquarters Department op Puerto Rico, 

San Juan, P. R., August 15, 1899. 

It is due to the people of Puerto Rico that the commanding general, who also exer-» 
cises the functions of military governor, should make public announcement of the 
general features of the policy he is pursuing and intends to pursue touching the 
affairs of government in this island. 

The present military governor has devoted the three months of his residence here 
to a study of those more important and engrossing problems of government and 
administration that came before him. He has spared no pains or effort that would 
facilitate his task, one that presents many difficulties. 

While an arbitrary government over any territory included within the United 
States is not contemplated by the American Constitution and laws, under those laws 
it is impossible to supply any other form of governmental control than the military 
over territory conquered by the arms of the Union until Congress shall by suitable 
enactment determine and fix a form of civil government for such conquered territory. 

Under the American Constitution the whole theory of government is based on the 
principle that the people themselves are to make and enforce their own laws. ' It has 
been the practice of the military governor to endeavor by every paacticable means 
to learn the views and wishes of the people themselves respecting those measures 
that have been suggested, or that he has proposed to institute, looking to the adapta- 
tion of the system of laws and administration of this island to the one which, judg- 
ing from the past, Congress may be expected to enact for Puerto Rico. 

It is the unanimous recommendation of the ten members of two advisory boards- 
on governmental reforms— composed exclusively of distinguished citizens of Puerto 
Rico— that as regards the present organization of the civil branch of the military 
government, the system existing ought to be radically changed in some respects. 

The military governor has also taken counsel with many other public men, who 
are well known as distinguished for intelligence and patriotism, and during his resi- 
dence in the island he has very patiently and earnestly studied the subject of admin- 
istrative reforms. His hope, which corresponds to that of all the people, looks to 
an organization that may, as nearly as possible, correspond to the one which in due 
course of time— a time which all hope is close at hand— may be instituted in Puerto 
Rico by Congressional enactment. 

The changes that have already been made, and those now intended, should supply . 
for the island, until otherwise provided by Congress, a form of government resem- 
bling, as respects the superior branches, the territorial form heretofore applied in th 
United States to those portions of the national domain in a transition stage or one 
preparatory to full statehood and membership in the National Union. 

The territorial government, should such be organized by Congress, might be 
expected to consist of a governor, a legislature, a judiciary, a secretary of state, an 
attorney-general, a treasurer, an auditor, a bureau of public works, a bureau of agri- 
culture, a board of prisons, a board of health, a board of charities, and a few minor 
branches. 

The judiciary may be expected to consist of a supreme court, district or circuit 
courts, and primary or probate courts, there being a circuit court for each judicial 
district. 

The political divisions in the island would, following United States practice, be 
counties or provinces, and towns or municipalities. 

The government proper would consist of three coequal though interdependent 
branches, viz, the executive, the legislative, and the judicial. 

All administrative officers and heads of boards and bureaus would report direct to 
the governor. 

As Congress has as yet taken no measures or action respecting Puerto Rico, the 
supreme government is, under the Constitution, vested in the President of the United 

83 



84 REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 

States, as commander in chief of the Army and Navy. He has designated a general 
officer to represent him and to perforin the functions of civil governor. 

As the Spanish system of administration, which has long prevailed in Puerto Rico, 
is unknown to United States law, and as some of the statutes found in force in Puerto 
Rico are in conflict with the provisions of the American Constitution, it has heen 
found to lie necessary to modify or repeal some of those statutes, and this has heen 
done by order of the military commander of the island, as representing the President 
of the United States; hut the changes have never heen made without the fullest con- 
sideration, and always on the advice of leading Puerto Ricans, irrespective of party. 

Every step taken by the commanding general in changing the existing order of 
things has for its ultimate, and indeed its primary, object, the adaptation of the laws 
and administration to suit the change that must soon come and which all desire; that 
is, complete territorial autonomy. Several important orders have been issued of 
great import, and among those relating to superior administration and the judiciary 
are: 

(1) The announcement by General Brooke, on October 18, 1898, that the laws of 
the land not in conflict with the Constitution of the United States would be enforced. 

(2) The abolition of the court of appeals by General Brooke. 

(3) Continuation of the council of secretaries as constituted October 18, 1898 — 
order by General Brooke. 

(4) Abolishing the provincial deputation by General Brooke. 

(5) Dissolution of the council of secretaries by General Henry. 

(6) Appointment of heads of department in the civil government by General Henry. 
And the following by General Davis: 

(7) Instituting writ of habeas corpus. 

(8) Creating a board of prison control. 

(9) Appointing a United States provisional court and authorizing trial by jury. 

(10) Appointing a superior board of health. 

(11) Discontinuing the secretary of justice and delegating some of his duties to a 
judicial advisory board and to the courts; also establishing the independent judiciary. 

(12) Reorganizing the judiciary on recommendation of the judicial board. 

The effect of the orders issued and of the changes resulting therefrom tends directly 
to harmonizing the existing system and that to come with territorial autonomy, should 
such be enacted by Congress. Then the military governor would give place to a civil 
governor, the solicitor-general to an attorney-general; the judicial board would disap- 
pear, and the courts would be supreme in their respective spheres. The provisional 
United States court would be replaced by a court created by Federal legislation. 

The governor would have a legislature — senate and house of representatives — to 
regulate his actions, to make laws for the people, and to control expenditures. The 
treasurer, auditor, and various bureau chiefs all reporting directly to the governor, 
and indirectly to the legislature, would continue. But another change is necessary 
to carry forward the transformation and adapt it to the system which all thinking 
men expect and desire. 

There are now provided a department of the treasury, a department of the interior, 
and a department of state, each with its respective head. The functions of the secre- 
tary of the treasury relating to the disbursement of funds have been committed to a 
treasurer and an auditor. The most important function now remaining to the secre- 
tary of the treasury is the oversight of the collection of internal revenue. Ultimately 
this branch of public service will also devolve upon the treasurer; but that officer is 
not yet ready to assume the duty of assessment and collection of internal taxes. An 
internal-revenue bureau must therefore be maintained for the present under supervi- 
sion of native and military officials. 

Complete autonomy for municipalities is very greatly to be desired and is intended 
to be instituted as rapidly as possible, the government of the towns to be as independ- 
ent as they are in the United States. But at present a bad economic state exists in 
many municipalities. Some are heavily in debt and have no visible means of liqui- 
dating their obligations; large sums of money in the form of uncollected taxes are 
owed in nearly all the municipalities; to meet current expenses some of them propose 
extraordinary taxes that are not now authorized by law; in many municipalities there 
are mayors and councilmen who have not been elected by the people, and complaints 
against town administration are numerous. 

All the towns need assistance to extricate them from their difficulties, and for this 
help their appeals are very numerous. They need public improvements in shape of 
schoolhouses, hospitals, almshouses, water supply, sewers, and a great many other 
accessories to efficient town administration. For these reasons it is necessary to main- 
tain a municipal bureau in the insular government so as to keep it in close touch with 
the times and the people. 



REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 85 

A beginning has been made at one place in supplying local self-government to the 
inhabitants. This is to be repeated in other towns and elections held in all of them 
as rapidly as possible; but this requires attention and supervision from the central 
government. 

There are two prominent political parties, each striving for mastery, and partisan 
feeling runs at high tide. A defeated party at an election is sometimes carried away 
by prejudice. Those who are unsuccessful sometimes assert that their party is unfavor- 
ably discriminated against or is unjustly treated. Honest and intelligent supervision 
of these elections is necessary; and this can only be supplied through public-spirited 
and honest Puerto Ricans assisting the military government. 

An official exercising functions such as usually devolve upon a secretary of state 
will be necessary for reasons stated. 

The bureau of education, which regulates the affairs of a branch of the public service 
of the utmost importance to the people, and especially to the rising generation, has been 
separated already from the department of the interior and reports direct to the mili- 
tary governor as it should later report to the civil governor and to the legislature. 

The bureau of public works is a technical branch of the service, and in all our States 
reports direct to the governor. Of the same character is the bureau of agriculture. 

It results from the foregoing that the necessity ceases for retaining the separate 
departments that have been presided over by able officers, collectively called "The 
cabinet;" and it follows that the departmental organization should cease to exist, 
and announcement to that effect is now made. 

A very considerable proportion of the population calls for the institution of changes 
that may confer self-government and full autonomy. It is believed that the course 
being pursued will lead directly to that end by the most expeditious means possible. 

When the municipalities or towns shall have demonstrated their capacity and ability 
to govern themselves as do all orderly and law-abiding communities, the first and 
most important advance toward insular autonomy will have been taken. In the 
absence of Congressional legislation it is the wish and intention of the military gov- 
ernor to rapidly furnish an opportunity, through carefully and honestly regulated 
elections, for the municipalities to govern themselves, and for all towns to have abso- 
lute freedom from superior restraint as soon as their governments are carried _on in 
accordance with principles of law, equity, and absolute justice. 

The files in the office of the commanding general are now full of complaints alleg- 
ing dishonest, corrupt, and unlawful municipal administration in many towns. 
Investigations made by impartial officers have unfortunately justified the complaints 
in many cases. The law-abiding people of Puerto Rico can not expect or wish that 
the military government should cease and the towns be left in the chaos in which 
some of them were and, it is feared, still continue. 

A general plan for municipal elections has been resolved upon by means of which 
educated men and business interests of the island may have expression. This has 
been explained to the accredited leader of each of the political parties, and both of 
these gentlemen have assured me of their hearty approval and support of the pro- 
posal to hold municipal elections in the manner indicated. If all their adherents 
will act according to the dictates of justice and equity, it is intended there will soon 
be installed in all the towns municipal governments really representing the will of 
the people. 

It is probably beyond the power of man to devise and to carry into execution an 
election law that is absolutely free from defects, and that in its application may be 
shown to be perfect; but the adage should always be remembered, that "To err is 
human, to forgive divine. ' ' Each of the parties clamors for municipal elections and 
autonomic government of towns. The military governor has no doubt that each of 
these parties, in the strife for the political mastery, will govern all its actions by a 
high sense of duty and will resort to no methods or acts that will in the slightest 
degree tend to discredit themselves, their respective parties, and their beautiful 
island. 

When all the municipalities shall have happily reached a firm basis, when justice 
and right shall reign supreme, and local affairs are honestly administered, the problem 
of the future government of Puerto Rico will have been solved; for the next step, an 
insular legislature, should be an easy one, and the civil functions of the military 
commander should cease. 

The military governor can not accomplish the objects for which he comes here 
without the cordial support of the people. Were he able to do this without their 
help, it would be a miracle. His best and most earnest efforts will be directed to 
the difficult task of making ready this island for a territorial regime when Congress 
shall be ready to enact it. 



86 REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 

The industrial and economic condition of the people is now in a very sad state, but 
not only is it far from hopeless — it is instead full of promise. 

It is the earnest hope of the undersigned, and it is also his expectation, that the 
tariff and trade laws now prevailing will soon be materially changed so that an 
impetus may be given to industrial development and remunerative labor found for 
the unemployed. 

If all classes of the inhabitants, native and foreign, will work together for the com- 
mon good, Puerto Rico should soon be the gem of the Antilles — the best governed, 
happiest, the most prosperous island in the West Indies. 

Geo. W. Davis, 
Brigadier- General, Commanding. 



INDEX OF GENERAL ORDERS OF HEADQUARTERS DEPARTMENT OF 

PUERTO RICO, 1898. 

Number. 

Board of health, composition of 37 

Bread and fresh meat rules to cheapen cost of 39 

Civil courts, slow process of 27 

Court of appeals (tribunal) abolished 4 

Collectors of customs 11 

Commission created for the purpose of ascertaining the assets and liabilities of 

diputacion provincial 17 

College of lawyers (bar association) 20 

Criminal courts of Puerto Rico 1 

District commanders charged with maintaining peace, etc 1 

Diputacion provincial discontinued 17 

Fishing in waters of Puerto Rico 21 

Grants or concessions 35 

Importation of merchandise 11 

Laws in Puerto Rico to continue 8 

Liquors and tobacco, taxation of 39 

Municipal tax on free beef 29 

Provincial and municipal laws 1 

Royal decree abolished . 4 

Rules and regulations to remain in force 11 

Royal dues on conveyance 16 

Royal subdelegation of pharmacy abolished 18 

Stamped papers and stamps 4 

Supreme court of justice 19 

Taxes to continue in force 12 



INDEX OF GENERAL ORDERS OF HEADQUARTERS DEPARTMENT OF 

PUERTO RICO, 1899. 

Number. 

Accounting, method of 87 

Adjuntas, election at 112 

Aguadilla, civil authority suspended at 20, 27 

Appointments of heads of departments 15 

alcaldes, councilmen, and notaries 16 

municipal police 110 

AdA'isory board 121 

Animals, stray, damage done by 128 

prevention of cruelty to 122 

Allegiance to the Crown of Spain 132 

Bachelor, degree of 108 

Board of health superior 91, 102, 151 

education 93, 113 

prison control 77, 100 

charities 116, 117, 120 



REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 87 

Number. 

Bonds for civil employees disbursing funds Ill 

Burials - - 13 

Bureaus, rules for 97 

state and municipal affairs 116 

internal revenue 116 

agriculture 116 

Certificates of surgeon dentists and practitioners in minor surgery 28 

Cleaning streets and towns - 48 

Children on streets at night 46 

Collectors of internal revenues - 5 

Council of secretaries 17 

Citizens and troops not harmonizing 19 

Currency 30 

Chaplains of jails 72 

Commission for examination of teachers 84 

Councilmen, taxpayers only 145 

report of absentees 145 

number of, in municipalities 143 

Criminal and civil procedure ' 118 

Custom-houses, closing of 136 

Cattle, pregnant, slaughter of 142 

Courts, municipal, to maintain civil register 144 

Councils conducted according to parliamentary rules. . . 146 

Day's work eight hours 54, 61 

Delegations traveling at public expense 43 

Departments, constitution of 12 

" rules for conduct of business of 97 

discontinued 116 

Dental surgery '," 28 

Disbursing officers, solicitor-general's office 104 

Depots, relief supply 119, 120, 135 

Dueling 129 

Damage done by stray animals 128 

Election at Adjuntas 112 

rules for conducting 145 

Employees, salaries and wages of 156 

Foreclosure, law of 18 

Funds for public schools 113 

Food for destitute, sale of, by inspectors 124 

Fajardo, port of 1 136 

Folio, term of 150 

Food, purity and wholesomeness of 151 

Gambling 46 

Guanica, port of 136 

Habeas corpus 71 

Holiday, February 22 24 

Hormiguearas, annexation of 1 

Hurricane, conditions resulting from 115 

Insane asylum 91 

Immoral condition of San Juan 46 

Internal revenues 5 

Inspector of penitentiary 62 

of orphan asylum 91 

Insular cabinet. 12 

police 55 

courts 104 

Isla Grande or Mangier 49 

Jail, municipal, at San Juan 32 

Judicial board 98 

Junta del Obras del Puerto de San Juan 21 

Judicial system of Puerto Rico reoganized 114 

districts 118 

Judiciary of the island 118 

Land, taxation of 6 

for naval purposes 49 



88 REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 

Number. 

Law of foreclosure 18 

and order 19 

practice of, in Puerto Pico 134 

Lawyers. Spanish 69, 134 

light-houses 4 

Liquor sold to children 30 

Mortgages 18 

Meats, freedom in sale of 101 

Medical officers on vaccination duty 7 

Medicio forense 72 

Military commission and judges of instruction 67 

Moca, officials deposed from office 20, 27 

Municipal councils 110 

Mortgage bonds or cedulas 123 

Mirafiores, Island of 137 

Naval station 10 

reservation 49 

Newspapers, La Metralla, of Ponce 26 

Gazette, of San Juan 11 

Orders issued to be ol >eyed 23 

No. 95, current series, temporarily suspended 105 

No. 87, paragraph 4, amended 106 

Phvsician, court 72 

Police force 13 

municipal 110 

People from abroad - 29 

Prisoners in jail 33 

Prison control, board of 77 

Provisional court 88, 103, 109, 148 

Primary court of district of the cathedral discontinued 95 

Protection to animals 122 

Planting of potatoes, corn, etc 126 

Procurador, profession of 134 

Quarantine station, island of Mirafiores 137 

Rations to destitute 43 

Relief of General Henry, order announcing 50 

Reward for apprehension of robbers 22, 130 

Reports of chief of penitentiary and jail wardens 68 

Revenues, insular 87 

Roads, building of 43 

Royal dues 147 

Register, civil 144 

Records of courts open to inspection 150 

Reservation, naval 49 

Shackles not to be used 33 

Smallpox 7 

Subdelegation of medicine and surgery 28, 153 

State, department of 116 

Supreme court of justice, reorganization of 118 

Spanish subjects, natives of the peninsula 132 

Solicitor (procurador) discontinued 134 

Taxes on lands 6 

on products purchased by commissary department 43 

on salaries of working people : 54 

due by landholders to insular treasury, collection of, suspended 125, 138 

Teachers, examination of 84 

Telegraph lines, regulation for use of 64 

Time, intercolonial 41 

Treasurer, to issue receipts in duplicate 106 

Treasury, department of, discontinued . . 116 

Vaccination 1, 7, 80 

Vaccine virus 7 

Viequez, port of 136 

Work, idle able-bodied men refusing 124 



REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 89 

INDEX OF CIRCULARS OF HEADQUARTERS ' DEPARTMENT OF PUERTO 

RICO, 1899. 
_ Number. 

Alcaldes respecting vaccination 3 

Cholera and yellow fever alcaldes to report on 23 

De Ford & Co - 8 

Drafts or checks drawing on government, cashing of 8 

Employment of Puerto Ricans in preference to foreigners 1 

Habeas corpus 17 

Hurricane 32 

Machinery imported for sugar-making free of duty 27 

Vaccination 3 

Vessels, protection to 35 

Wages, rate of 28 



GENERAL ORDERS,. 1898 AND 1899. 

[Nos. 1-21 issued by General Brooke.] 

General Orders, \ Headquarters Department of Puerto Rico, 

No. 1. J San Juan, October 18, 1898. 

I. In compliance with the orders of the President, the undersigned hereby assumes 
command of the Department of Puerto Rico. 

II. For the convenience of military and civil administration the Department of 
Puerto Rico is divided into two geographical districts, as follows: 

III. The District of Ponce, the limits of which include the jurisdictions of Agua- 
dilla, Mayagiiez, Ponce, and Guayama. Brig. Gen. Guy V. Henry, United States 
Volunteers, is assigned to its command, with headquarters at Ponce. 

IV. The District of San Juan, the limits of which include the jurisdictions of 
Arecibo, Bayamon, Humacao, and adjacant islands. Brig. Gen. F. D. Grant, United 
States Volunteers, is assigned to its command, with headquarters at San Juan. 

V. District commanders are responsible for the supply, health, efficiency, and dis- 
cipline of their commands as provided by Army Regulations and orders, and are 
authorized to make or direct such inspections as are necessary to promote those ends. 

VI. Under no circumstances will the criminal courts of Puerto Rico, or its adjacent 
islands, exercise jurisdiction over any crime or offense committed by any officer or 
soldier belonging to the Army of the United States, or any retainer of the Army, or 
person serving with it; nor over any crime or offense committed on either of the same 
by inhabitant or temporary resident of the territory. In such cases jurisdiction is 
vested in courts-martial or military commissions. 

VII. District commanders are also charged with maintaining peace and good order 
among the inhabitants within the lines of their districts, but need not confine them- 
selves to these lines in the pursuit and arrest of offenders if occasion demands. The 
protection of life and preservation of property will receive their special attention, and 
they will exact from subordinate commanders zealous activity in the performance of 
every duty connected with civil, as well as military, administration. 

VIII. The cession of Puerto Rico, with its adjacent islands, to the United States 
has severed the political relation of the inhabitants thereof with the Kingdom of 
Spain, and until Congress acts the President of the United States, as Commander in 
Chief, has placed the newly acquired territory under military government, which is 
absolute and supreme; but wherever the inhabitants yield obedience to the civil rep- 
resentatives of law and order it is not intended that the military shall intervene. 

Wherever obedience to law and order is not thus rendered the military will sustain 
the civil authority with armed force to secure the prompt arrest and punishment of 
malefactors. 

IX. The provincial and municipal laws, in so far as they affect the settlement of 
the private rights of persons and property and provide for the punishment of crime, 
will be enforced, unless they are incompatible with the changed conditions of Puerto 
Rico, in which event they may be suspended by the department commander. They 
will be administered substantially as they were before the cession to the United 



90 EEPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 

State?. For this purpose the judges and all other officials connected with the admin- 
istration of justice who accept allegiance to the United States will administer the laws 
of the land as between man and man; but in cases of the nonacceptance of such alle- 
giance or malfeasance in office, or for other cause, the department commander will 
exercise his right of removal and the appointment of other officials. To aid in exe- 
cuting the provincial and municipal laws the present local constabulary and police 
will be preserved as far as practicable and necessary, provided their allegiance to the 
United States is assured. 

X. The freedom of the people to pursue their customary avocations will not be 
abridged. Private property belonging to individuals or corporations, and all public 
property and buildings belonging to the United States and the provincial govern- 
ment or municipalities, and all school buildings, churches, and houses devoted to 
religious worship must be protected. 

John R. Brooke, 
~)[<ijor- General, Commanding. 



General Orders, \ Headquarters Department of Puerto Rico, 

No. 4. | San Juan, October 27, 1898. 

I. The royal decree of the Government of Spain, dated July 26, 1898, concerning 
judicial limitations, is from this day abolished; it being understood, however, that 
this does not invalidate the effects resulting from its application during the time it 
was in force as to annulment of sentences, judicial proceedings, and findings, which 
exclusively appertain to the courts and judges in each case. 

II. From and after the date of this order the use of all stamped paper and stamps 
of every kind and character whatsoever heretofore required by Spanish law will be 
discontinued in Puerto Rico and its adjacent islands, and all documents, titles, bank 
checks, and papers of every kind and character will have legal effect in Puerto Rico 
and its adjacent islands without the use of said stamped paper and stamps. 

III. The tribunal known as the court of appeals (contencioso administrativo) is 
hereby abolished, and the duties and functions of the said court are transferred to 
the supreme court of justice. 

By command of Major-General Brooke: 

M. V. Sheridan, 
Brigadier-General, U. S. V., Chief of Staff. 



General Orders, \ Headquarters Department of Puerto Rico, 

No. 8. J San Juan, November 4, 1898. 

As the laws that were in force in Puerto Rico and its adjacent islands are to be 
continued in force as long as they are compatible with the military government now 
administering the affairs of Puerto Rico and its adjacent islands, the relations that 
heretofore existed between the local or inferior centers of public administration and 
the council of secretaries must also be preserved; so, then, it is directed that each 
local or inferior center send to the secretary to which it appertains the class of busi- 
ness of which he has heretofore had charge, in order that the said secretary may lay 
such business before the department commander for his action. 
By command of Major-General Brooke: 

M. V. Sheridan, 
Brigadier-General, U. S. V., Chief of Staff. 



General Orders, \ Headquarters Department of Puerto Rico, 

No. 11. j San Juan, November 9, 1898. 

The rules and regulations heretofore in existence, and governing importation of 
merchandise of every description and class, will be continued in force, and collectoi'S' 
of customs will not admit the entry of any merchandise except such as is consigned 
to merchants matriculated as importers (comerciantes importadores) . 
By command Major-General Brooke: 

M. V. Sheridan, 
Brigadier-General, U.S. V., Chief of Staff. 



REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 91 

General Orders, \ Headquarters Department of Puerto Rico, 

No. 12. j San Juan, November 12, 1898. 

I. With the exception of such taxes as have been expressly abolished by the 
major-general commanding the department all imposts established in this island by 
the Spanish Government, and especially the territorial tax levied on rural and town 
property, on cultivation and cattle growing, and on industry and commerce, shall 
continue in force as heretofore until otherwise determined, as also the regulations 
issued for their assessment and collection. 

II. The secretary of finance and other officials and agents charged with the collec- 
tion of said taxes shall proceed at once with the greatest diligence to collect them, 
instituting the necessary proceedings for the collection of those due, or in arrears 
from last year, these funds being absolutely needed to defray the manifold expenses 
of the civil administration which is now under military direction. 

The major-general commanding hopes that, without having to resort to extreme 
measures, taxpayers and officials alike will hasten to perform their duties, thereby 
avoiding the attending losses and responsibilities. 
By command of Major-General Brooke: 

M. V. Sheridan, 
Brigadier-General, U. S. V., Chief of Staff. 



General Orders, \ Headquarters Department of Puerto Rico, 

No. 16. J San Juan, November 26, 1898. 

The ordinance of July 4, 1885, promulgated by Royal Decree No. 301, of same date, 
creating the tax known as royal dues on conveyance of property, as also the addi- 
tional tax imposed by article 7 of the budget act of 1893-94, upon property trans- 
ferred, either as free gifts in life, or by reason of death, inheritance, and legacy, are 
hereby abolished. 

Hereafter all contracts shall be exempt from aforesaid taxation, and no tax, there- 
fore, shall be levied on property of any description upon the transfer of title and pos- 
session thereof, whether by virtue of inheritance, contract, or any other title 
whatsoever. 

This order will be carried into effect from the date of its publication in the Official 
Gazette of Puerto Rico. 

By command of Major-General Brooke: 

M. V. Sheridan, 
Brigadier-General, U. S. Y., Chief of Staff . 



General Orders, \ Headquarters Department of Puerto Rico, 

No. 17. j San Juan, November 29, 1898. 

I. The existence of the body known as the "diputacion provincial" being con- 
sidered as wholly unnecessary and incompatible with the present administration of 
public affairs it is hereby discontinued and abolished. The responsibilities as well as 
the duties heretofore performed by the said ' ' diputacion provincial ' ' are distributed 
and assigned as follows : 

II. The secretary of state (secretario de gobernacion) will take charge of all matters 
appertaining to charitable institutions, public health, and of the examination of 
accounts which were formerly in charge of the "diputacion provincial." 

III. The secretary of the interior (fomento) will have charge of all matters relating 
to public works and education that were f ormerly in charge of the ' ' diputacion pro- 
vincial." 

IV. The secretary of finance (hacienda) will have charge of the now existing assets 
and liabilities of the "diputacion provincial," the collection of all its claims and the 
liquidation of all its debts. 

V. A commission is hereby created consisting of Juan Hernandez Lopez, secretary 
of justice, president; Ramon Mendez Cardona, assistant secretary of finance; Fran- 
cisco de Paula Acufia, attorney of supreme court; Manuel Camunas, assistant secretary 
of state, whose duty it shall be to ascertain the assets and liabilities of the "diputa- 
cion provincial," to receive all its property and to distribute the same among the 
different departments of the government as mentioned above. The commission will 
meet at the call of the president. 

By command of Major-General Brooke: 

M. V. Sheridan, . 
Brigadier-General, U. S. V., Chief of Staff. 



92 REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 

General Orders, \ Headquarters Department of Puerto Rico, 

No. 18. I San Juan, December 1, 1898. 

I. The royal subdelegation of pharmacy is hereby abolished. 

II. Until a university is established in Puerto Rico, the courses and examinations 
necessary for a diploma in pharmacy will be in charge of the institute of higher educa- 
tion. 

III. The fees for examination and diplomas will be the same as were charged by 
the subdelegation of pharmacy. 

I V. From February next the degree of bachelor will be required for matriculation 
in pharmacy. 

V . As in the case of the degree of bachelor, that of pharmacist may be obtained by 
private tuition, provided it be shown by yearly certificates that the candidate has, 
during three years, gone through a practical course of studies in a registei'ed pharmacy. 

VI. The institute of higher education will take charge of the archives of the sub- 
delegation of pharmacy. 

By command of Major-General Brooke: 

M. V. Sheridan, 
Brigadier-General, U. S. V., Chief of Staff. 



General Orders, ) Headquarters Department of Puerto Rico, 

No. 19. j San Juan, December 2, 1898. 

I. The full bench of the supreme court of justice, consisting of seven magistrates, 
including the president, shall hear all the appeals pending decision,' as well as those 
that may hereafter be established and are authorized by the laws of civil and criminal 
procedure, which, under the Spanish regime, devolved upon the supreme court of 
Madrid, whose jurisdiction regarding this islandceased by virtueof the peace protocol. 

II. In cases of incompatibility, vacancy, or absence, the incumbent magistrates shall 
be substituted by the assistant or vice magistrate, and in default of these, by the pri- 
mary court judges of the capital. 

III. Causes where the death penalty has been demanded will be heard and decided 
by a bench composed of three full magistrates and two assistant magistrates, and in 
default of these, by the primary court judges of the capital, provided there be no 
incompatibility. 

IV. The appeals forwarded to and still pending decision at the aforesaid supreme 
court of Madrid shall be claimed through diplomatic channels without detriment to 
the action taken for that object by the parties concerned, and upon their return shall 
be transferred to the hearing of the supreme court of justice. 

V. The exposition or report referred to in article 948 of the law of criminal pro- 
cedure in cases of death penalty shall be addressed to the secretary of justice, in 
order that he may propose, should he deem it equitable, commutation of the penalty 
to the military commander, Department of Puerto Rico. 

VI. In like manner thesupreme court of justice shall hear the appeals which, under 
the late regime in administrative matters, devolved upon the supreme court estab- 
lished for the purpose at Madrid. 

By command of Major-General Brooke: 

M. V. Sheridan, 
Brigadier-General, U. S. V., Chief of Staff. 



General Orders, \ Headquarters Department of Puerto Rico, 

No. 20. / San Juan, December 3, 1898. 

The college of lawyers (bar association) is hereby reestablished in the manner pre- 
scribed by its former statutes, authorized by royal decree of May 28, 1838, in so far 
as these are not opposed to the sovereignty and Constitution of the United States, 
such provisions of the "compilation" of January 5, 1891, as are contrary to said 
statutes being abolished. 
The secretary of justice is intrusted with the details for the execution of this order. 
By command of Major-General Brooke : 

M. V. Sheridan, 
Brigadier- General, U. S. V., Chief of Staff. 



REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 93 

General Orders, \ Headquarters Department of Puerto Rico, 

No. 21. J San Juan, December 4, 1898. 

From and after this date the granting of exclusive fishing privileges in the streams, 
rivers, bays, inlets, and other waters of Puerto Rico and its adjacent islands will be 
discontinued, and the right of fishing in the said waters will be absolutely free ; but 
all persons who enjoy said free privileges will be subject to the common and statute 
laws which govern fishing in said waters. 
By command of Major-General Brooke : 

M. V. Sheridan, 
Brigadier-General, U. S. V., Chief of Staff. 



[Nos. 27 to 39 issued by General Henry.] 

General Orders, \ Headquarters Department of Puerto Rico, 

No. 27. J San Juan, December 8, 1898. 

It having become evident that the civil courts can not, owing to their slow process 
and the overcrowded state of their dockets, act with sufficient promptness against 
the bandits who are still committing crimes of arson and murder on the island, there 
not having been as yet a single conviction in such cases, and an immediate example 
being necessary, military commissions will be appointed for the trial of such cases as 
may be properly brought before them. 

By command of Brigadier-General Henry: 

W. V. Richards, 
Assistant Adjutant- General. 



General Orders, ) Headquarters Department of Puerto Rico, 

No. 35. f San Juan, December 26, 1898. 

The following order of the President of the United States is published for the 
information and guidance of all concerned: 

' ' Until otherwise ordered, no grants or concessions of public or corporate rights or 
franchises for the construction of public or quasi public works, such as tramways, 
railroads, telegraph and telephone lines, waterworks, gasworks, electric-light lines, 
etc., shall be made by any municipal or other local governmental authority *or body 
in- Puerto Rico, except upon the approval of the major-general commanding the 
military forces of the United States in Puerto Rico, who shall before approving any 
such grant or concession be so especially authorized by the Secretary of War." 

This order will be distributed to all* alcaldes, who will be governed by it in the 
several municipalities. Projected or intended improvements submitted by indi- 
viduals or companies requiring franchise will be received by the councils and for- 
warded with recommendation to these headquarters for the action of the department 
commander. 

By command of Major-General Henry: 

Frank McIntyre, 
First Lieutenant, Nineteenth Infantry, Acting Assistant Adjutant-General. 



General Orders, \ Headquarters Department of Puerto Rico, 

No. 37. j San Juan, December 28, 1898. 

I. A board of health is hereby constituted at San Juan, to be composed as follows: 

1. Capt. L. P. Davison, Fifth Infantry, president of board, executive officer, and 
sanitary inspector of the island. 

2. The health officer of the port. 

3. The health officer of the city. 

4 and 5. Two members of the city council, to be selected by that body, one member 
having special interest in and knowledge of street cleaning, "policing, etc.; the other 
member of public works, water supply, sewerage, etc. 

II. District commanders will have similar boards organized in their towns. In the 
absence of troops the alcalde will be the head of the board, the number of council- 
men can be reduced to one, and at towns not on the sea the health officer of the port 
will be omitted. 

_ These boards will gather vital statistics and other information and recommenda- 
tions, which they will furnish to the board at San Juan. 



94 REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 

The latter board will keep the department commander informed of all matters 
needing his attention. 

III. The board at San Juan will formulate regulations governing sanitary surround- 
ings; overcrowding of buildings; policing of houses inside, front, and rear; throwing 
of refuse matter of any kind into the street or on the ground; proper clothing of 
men, women, and children, or exposure of person, and fix a fine for the violation of 
such regulations, said fine to be collected and turned into the municipal treasury for 
charitable purposes. 

In event of failure to pay this fine, an imprisonment of a number of fixed days will 
be imposed and carried out by each alcalde. 

The regulations fixed by the board at San Juan to govern at other places as well 
will be complied with and any failure to carry out its orders will be reported so that 
other action may be taken. 

By command of Major-General Henry: 

Frank McIntyre, 
First Lieutenant, Nineteenth Infantry, Acting Assistant Adjutant-General. 



General Orders, \ Headquarters Department of Puerto Rico, 

No. 39. j ' San Juan, December. 30, 1898. 

In order to cheapen the cost of bread and fresh meat consumed in the island, 
encourage competition among dealers, and place said necessaries within reach of the 
poorer classes, the following rules are established to go into effect from January 1, 
1899: 

1. The industry of making and selling bread is hereby declared free from all 
municipal taxation in this island. 

2. The sale of beef, pork, or mutton shall henceforth be entirely free in this island 
and no taxes, whether direct or indirect, shall be levied upon same by the munici- 
palities thereof. 

3. All industries based upon the sale of meat, such as those of victuallers, butchers, 
slaughterhouses, and any others, are also exempt from all municipal dues. 

4. Absolute freedom is likewise granted for the establishment of meat stalls in the 
towns and rural districts. 

5. The foregoing rules shall have no limitations beyond the proof of ownership 
of the "animal to be slaughtered. 

6. The alcalde in the towns or the delegates of the municipal corporations in the 
rural districts shall inspect the live animal, ascertain if it corresponds with the 
description on the owner's register, seal and file same, and authorize the slaughter. 

7. Where doubts arise as to the healthy condition of the animal intended for 
slaughter, a physician, veterinarian, or expert, previously appointed for the purpose, 
shall be called to decide the matter. 

8. In order to make up for the reduction in municipal receipts occasioned by the 
above exemptions, municipal corporations are hereby authorized to issue licenses for 
the sale of all liquors, cigars, cigarettes, smoking and chewing tobacco, in whatsoever 
shape or form. 

9. The following schedule or tariff of taxation on liquors and tobacco is proposed 
to the municipal corporations, which tariff may be modified to meet the requirements 
of their respective localities: 

For every liquor or tobacco store or stand in towns of from — 

5,000 to 10,000 inhabitants $50.00 

10,000 to 15,000 inhabitants 60.00 

15,000 to 20,000 inhabitants 70.00 

Above 20,000 inhabitants 80.00 

10. No establishment whatever shall be allowed to sell articles subject to license, 
unless furnished with the latter. 

11. In case the receipts from licenses for the sale of liquor and tobacco should fail 
to make up for the deficiency resulting in the budget, municipal corporations shall 
adopt such measures of economy as they may judge advisable and are compatible 
with the law, in order to cover said deficiency. 

12. Municipal corporations are hereby authorized to increase the value of above 
licenses when issued to wholesale dealers in liquors and tobacco. 

Failure to pay the required tax will result in payment of fines which shall be 
double the tax, and if necessary, besides, the closing of the establishment and 
imprisonment of the offender. 

It is hoped that this taxing of sales of liquors may have the effect of closing a 
number of saloons and taking temptation to drink away from the inhabitants, a vice 



REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 95 

of the island which tends to demoralize its people, cause misery and suffering to 
the innocent, and interfere materially with moral progress, upon which depends the 
success of any nation. 
By command of Major-General Henry: 

Frank McIntyee, 
First Lieutenant, Nineteenth Infantry, Acting Assistant Adjutant- General. 

Note. — General Orders, No. 39, are the last of the series for 1898. 



[Nos. 1 to 58, issued by General Henry.] 

General Orders, \ Headquarters Department of Puerto Rico, 

No. 1. J San Juan, January 3, 1899. 

I. In accordance with orders from the postal department no mails of municipalities 
will be transmitted without proper postage. 

No mail will be admitted free unless inclosed in a regular official penalty envelope. 

II. The orders requiring vaccination throughout the island will be executed in all 
municipalities. Boards of health will report failure to obey these orders, and alcaldes 
will see to the punishment by fine or imprisonment of persons who fail to comply 
with orders of the board of health. 

III. The municipality of Hormigueros having, by a vote of 190 to 2, voted in 
favor of being annexed to Mayaguez, it is hereby declared a part of the municipality 
of Mayaguez. The ayuntamiento of Mayaguez will take immediate steps to relieve 
from their offices the present municipal officers of Hormigueros, and will make the 
necessary arrangements for governing the former municipality of Hormigueros. 

It is hoped that other small municipalities will follow the example of Hormigueros, 
and thus reduce their own expenses and concentrate for the administration of the 
laws. 

By command of Major-General Henry: 

Frank McIntyre, 
First Lieutenant, Nineteenth Infantry, Acting Assistant Adjutant-General. 



General Orders, \ Headquarters Department of Puerto Rico, 

No. 4. f San Juan, January 17, 1899. 

I. The inspection, care, and maintenance of light-houses adjacent to the coast of 
this island are hereby removed from the control of the secretary of the department 
of fomento and transferred to the control of the navy officer in charge. 

II. Upon the recommendation of the commanding officer United States navy- 
yard, San Juan, Ensign W. R. Gherardi, United States Navy, is hereby announced 
as in charge of the light-house district of Puerto Rico, and will report to the com- 
manding officer United States navy-yard for instructions. He will be obeyed and 
respected accordingly. 

By command of Major-General Henry: 

Frank McIntyre, 
First Lieutenant, Nineteenth Infantry, Acting Assistant Adjutant-General. 



General Orders, \ Headquarters Department of Puerto Rico, 

No. 5. / San Juan, January 18, 1899. 

The collections of the customs duties and of the internal revenues of this island are 
hereby separated. 

The internal revenue will hereafter be collected by the secretary of finance, who 
will give the necessary directions for the economical carrying out of this order. 

Collectors of internal revenues are hereby designated for the places set opposite 
their respective names, as follows: Luis R. Velazquez, Ponce; Felipe Cuebas, May- 
aguez; Alejandro Salicrup, San Juan; Manuel Colon, Arecibo; Sandalio Valdejuli, 
Humacao; P. SanClemente, Arroyo; Eduardo Garcia Alonso, Fajardo; JoseR. Vidal, 
Aguadilla; Adolfo Rieckehoff, Vieques. 

These collectors will give bonds of $2,000 each before entering upon their duties. 

By command of Major-General Henry: 

Frank McIntyre, 
First Lieutenant, Nineteenth Infantry, Acting Assistant Adjutant-General. 



96 REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 

General Orders, \ Headquarters Department of Puerto Rico, 

No. 6. i San Juan. January 19, 1899. 

In order to remedy the evils due to unjust apportionments, the following are the 
orders concerning the taxation of lands on this island. Any variation from this order, 
or excess in taxation under it, will, upon being reported to these headquarters, result 
in the punishment of the offending parties. 

1. The assessment of taxes upon lands will hereafter be made in accordance with 
the various cultivations existing in the island and the quality of the land taxed. 

2. In accordance with the various cultivations there will be taxes on cane lands, 
coffee lands, tobacco lands, pasture lands, minor-produce lands, and forest lands. 

3. In accordance with the quality of the land there will be taxes of the first, second, 
and third classes — the first class comprising the best lands, the second class the next 
best, and the third class the poorest. 

4. On all lands of the first class there will be a tax of 1 peso per cuerda (acre) ; on 
all lands of the second class a tax of 0.50 peso per cuerda; on all lands of the third 
class, a tax of 0.25 peso per cuerda. 

5. Each municipal corporation will appoint a classifying commission which will 
select subcommissions in the different districts of each township, these subeommis- 
sions to report to the classifying commission on the class of lands in their respective 
districts. 

6. These commissions will be guided by the following instructions: 

First-class cane lands are plains and valleys and other alluvial lands lying near 
settled communities, highways, railroads, and seaports, and the lands of drained 
lagoons and mangrove marshes. 

Second-class cane lands are the highland plains, generally surcharged with oxides 
of iron and known in the country as clayish lands. 
. First-class coffee lands are valley lands and hills abounding in organic detritus. 

Second-class coffee lands are highlands having a calcareous or limy formation. 

First-class tobacco lands are valley lands watered by rivers. 

Second-class tobacco lands are loamy highlands mixed with clay and sand. 

Third-class tobacco lands are sandy lands along the coast and calcareous lands 
among the hills. 

First-class pasture lands ai'e valleys, lagoons, and glens, where grow "malojila" 
and Guinea grass. 

Second-class pasture lands are those on the hills and on the coast where grow 
Guinea and dog grass. 

Third-class pasture lands are those along the coast and limy hills where grow only 
brush, "rat-tail," sweet grass, etc. 

First-class minor-produce lands are valley lands. 

Second-class minor-produce lands are highlands. 

Third-class minor-produce lands are sandy and limy lands. 

First-class forest lands are those growing virgin forests whose timber can supply 
building and cabinet w'oods, e. g., "aceitillo," cedar, "capa," "ausubo," etc. 

Second-class forest lands are lands with a rocky and calcareous soil growing only 
bushes available for fuel. 

7. Taxes on lands whose owners reside abroad will be increased by 50 per cent. 

8. All ordinances or decrees conflicting with the provisions of this order are hereby 
revoked and rendered null and void. 

By command of Major-General Henry: 

Frax-k McIntyre, 
First Lieutenant, Nineteenth Infantry, Acting Assistant Adjutant-General. 



General Orders, \ Headquarters Department of Puerto Rico, 

- No. 7. j San Juan, January 27, 1899. 

I. The inhabitants of this island must be protected from smallpox. Every resident 
who has not had this disease will be vaccinated, and hereafter all infants must be 
vaccinated before reaching the age of 6 months. 

II. The chief surgeon of the department is charged with the duty of providing the 
material and carrying out the details necessary in the work of vaccination. 

III. The following-named officers of the medical department are hereby appointed 
directors of vaccination and assigned to the designated divisions for temporary duty: 

Maj. P. R. Egan, brigade surgeon, IT. S. V., to the division of Guayama and of 
Humacao, south of the municipality of Naguabo and including Vieques, with head- 
quarters at Guayama. 

Maj. George G. Groff, brigade surgeon, U. S. V., to the division of Arecibo, with 
headquarters at Arecibo. 



REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 



97 



Capt. Charles Wilcox, assistant surgeon, U. S. A., to the division of Mayaguez and 
Aguadilla, with headquarters at Mayaguez. 

Capt. F. P. Reynolds, assistant surgeon, U. S. A., to the division of San Juan and 
of Humacao, north of and including the municipality of Naguabo, with headquarters 
at San Juan. 

Acting Asst. Surg. Azel Ames, to the division of Ponce, with headquarters at 
Coamo. 

IV. In addition to his duties as director of vaccination, Acting Asst. Surg. Azel 
Ames will take charge of the production and distribution of the necessary supply of 
vaccine virus. 

V. The above-named officers will report by letter to the chief surgeon of the 
department for the necessary instructions in the performance of this duty. 

VI. All medical officers serving at posts in the different divisions are hereby 
detailed as inspectors of vaccination, and will report, when their services are required 
for this purpose, to the directors of their respective divisions. The care of the sick 
of the command must not be neglected in performing this special duty. All other 
officers will render any assistance they may be called upon for in facilitating the 
work of vaccinating the people. 

VII. Inspectors of vaccination will report to the chief surgeon of the department 
any neglect on the part of the civil authorities to carry out this order, with, view to 
such action as may be deemed necessary by the department commander. 

By command of Major-Gen eral Henry: 

Frank McIntyre, 
First Lieutenant, Nineteenth Infantry, Acting Assistant Adjutant- General. 



General Orders, \ Headquarters Department op Puerto Rico, 

No. 10. j San Juan, January 28, 1899. 

Pursuant to orders from the War Department, the usual port jurisdiction of the 
harbor of San Juan is transferred to Commander Albert S. Snow, U. S. N., command- 
ant United States naval station, San Juan. Commander Snow will assume and per- 
form all the duties which are ordinarily performed by what is known as the captain 
of the port — the police of the harbor, the enforcement of rules and regulations regard- 
ing anchorage of vessels arriving at the port, the shifting of vessels from one anchorage 
to another, the boarding of vessels upon arrival, the enforcement of quarantine regu- 
lations, dumping of garbage, and all other matters pertaining to the jurisdiction of 
the harbor. 
By command of Major-General Henry: 

Frank McIntyre, 
First Lieutenant, Nineteenth Infantry, Acting Assistant Adjutant- General. 



General Orders, \ Headquarters Department of Puerto Rico, 

No. 11. J San Juan, January 29, 1899. 

I. The following reduction in notarial fees is hereby ordered and published for the 
information and guidance of all concerned; it will go into effect February 1, 1899. 

The Official Gazette should be consulted for further information concerning the 
paragraphs specified, as well as for other important notarial requirements: 



Articles of 
present 
tariff. 


Present 
tariff. 


Reduced 
tariff. 


Remarks. 


1 
4 

5 


$1.88 

4.80 
11.00 


$1.00 

1.00 
1.00 


Reduced from $1.88 (pesos) to $1 (peso) for each leaf of original doc- 
uments on all sorts of contracts, wills, and nuncupative codocils, 
and other instruments not specifically excepted under this tariff. 

Par. I. Value not exceeding $300. Reduced from 1.60 per cent to $1 
per leaf. 

Par. II. Value between $300 and $500. Reduced from 2.20 per cent 
to $1 per leaf. 

Comprised in article 1 at $1 per leaf. 

Reduced from 1 per cent to one-half per cent. 

Comprised in No. 1 of the new tariff. Reduced from three-fourths 
per cent to one-half per cent. 


6 






7 






' 15, 16, 17 






18 
23 


1.00 


.50 


Reduced from $1 to 50 cents. 

Canceled, being included in the reform for the Notarial Mont de 

Piete already approved. 
Canceled, being included in No. 1 of the new tariff. 


24,25,26,27 













12558- 



98 REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 

II. All articles of the original tariff not mentioned in Paragraph I of this order are 
hereby canceled and will cease to be operative on and after the date this order goes 
into effect. 

III. Any violation of this order by a notary will be reported to these headquarters, 
and will be regarded as a misconduct subjecting the offender, under notarial laws, to 
removal from ofhee. 

By command of Major-General Henry: 

Frank McIntyre, 
First Lieutenant, Nineteenth Infantry, Acting Assistant Adjutant-General. 



General Orders, \ Headquarters Department of Puerto Rico, 

No. 12. j San Juan, February 6, 1899. 

I. It having become evident after a careful trial of two months that the organiza- 
tion created under the Spanish system and continued by the representatives of the 
United States Government, known as the insular cabinet, is not compatible with 
American methods and progress, the same is dissolved. 

II. Four departments are hereby constituted, to be known as the departments of 
state, justice, finance, and interior (late fomento) . 

Each chief or minister will have charge of his own department, and when called 
together by the governor-general the latter will preside and give the necessary direc- 
tions. Each head of department will receive orders from and correspond direct 
with the governor-general. 

III. Heads of departments or others objecting to the introduction of American 
methods of business and progress, or to the investigation of the affairs of the depart- 
ments when properly ordered, will be relieved from office or their resignations accepted 
if tendered. 

IV. Any vacancy occurring in a department will be rilled by the most competent 
person available, irrespective of party affiliations, and temporary charge of such 
department will be taken by the officer next in rank to the head, unless another 
person has been designated. 

By command of Major-General Henry: 

Frank McIntyre, 
First Lieutenant, Nineteenth Infantry, Acting Assistant Adjutant-General. 



General Orders, \ Headquarters Department op Puerto Rico, 

No. 13. J San Juan, February 7, 1899. 

I. The police force of the island, heretofore under the state department, will hence- 
forth be under the immediate control of the governor-general. All papers and docu- 
ments in connection with the police force will be turned over to Mr. Techter. 

Mr. Frank Techter will take temporary charge of the organization of the force and 
submit for approval all names selected. As soon as enrolled they will be assigned to 
stations and duties, at the most important points first. Those chosen will be the best 
men to be had, irrespective of party affiliations and independent of politics. Those 
in the future mixing in politics will not be tolerated on the force. None will be dis- 
charged except for the above reason, neglect of duty, or inefficiency. 
, II. Cemeteries which have been consecrated for use by Roman Catholics will be 
used only for the burial of those of that faith and will be administered according to 
the perpetual laws of that dedication. Burials subject to the order of parish priests 
may be allowed in portions of grounds not dedicated. For others a suitable burial 
ground will be established by the municipalities. 

The existing habit of exhuming bodies in cemeteries and placing their bones in a 
corner of the cemetery or some other place, thus desecrating the dead, will be discon- 
tinued. Any violation of this order will result in a fine or some other form of pun- 
ishment of the person responsible for the observance thereof. 

By command of Major-General Henry: 

Frank McIntyre, 
First Lieutenant, Nineteenth Infantry, Acting Assistant Adjutant-General. 



REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 99 

General Orders, \ Headquarters Department of Puerto Eico, 

No. 15. J San Juan, February 9, 1899. 

I. The following appointments of heads of departments, under General Orders, No. 
12, current series, these headquarters, are announced: State, Sen or Francisco de P. 
Acufia; justice, Senor Herminio Diaz Navarro; finance, Senor Cay etano Coll y Toste; 
interior, Sepor Federico Degetau y Gonzalez. 

II. The following are the subdivisions of the functions of the four departments 
created under General Orders, No. 12, current series, these headquarters: 

State. — Municipal councils or corporations, public order and health, elections, and 
necessary correspondence connected with questions submitted from Washington or 
coming from diplomatic or other sources. 

Finance. — Collection of taxes, payment of public expenses, weights and measures, 
banks, bankers, and brokers. 

Justice. — Administration of justice, appointments of judges and notaries, penal 
establishments, judicial appeals. 

Interior. — Public and private educational institutions, public works, farming settle- 
ments, grants of patents and trade-marks, chambers of commerce, forests and mines, 
charitable institutions. 

III. Each head of department will organize his branch of the government into 
bureaus and place reliable chiefs over them, discharging inefficient or unnecessary 
men. 

For the present the chief of the bureau of education will be Gen. John Eaton, and 
that of public works (engineering, roads and bridges, waterworks, etc.) will be Maj. 
Francis L. Hills. 

Each bureau chief will report to his head of department for orders or other instruc- 
tions. 

Each head of department is independent of the others and will report direct to the 
governor-general . 

When convened by the governor-general, the heads of the four departments or a 
majority thereof will form a cabinet, over which the governor-general will preside. 

IV. A special department of police is created, the head of which will be subject 
to the direct orders of the governor-general. The police referred to is what was 
known as the insular police, and is independent of the municipal police, which is 
under the control of the respective municipalities. 

By command of Major-General Henry: 

W. P. Hall, Adjutant- General. 



General Orders, \ Headquarters Department op Puerto Rico, 

No. 16. j San Juan, February 10, 1899. 

I. Department of State, — All appointments of councilmen recommended and of 
alcaldes will be made by the secretary of state without reference to these headquar- 
ters. AH municipal correspondence will be addressed direct to the secretary of state, 
only cases of appeal being forwarded to these headquarters. 

II. Department of Justice. — Appointments of notaries will be made by the secretary 
of justice. In order to introduce American methods or to simplify the work of this 
department and to repeal unnecessary laws or those interfering with proper personal 
liberty, Maj. A. C. Sharpe, U. S. A., acting judge-advocate, will be associated with 
and subordinate to the secretary of justice. He will advise with and assist the sec- 
retary in preparing laws or systems in accord with those in vogue in the United 
States and will recommend annulment of such laws as are not in accord with progress. 

III. Department of Finance. — First Lieut. Frank Mclntyre, Nineteenth Infantry, 
aid-de-camp, will be associated with and subordinate to the secretary of finance. He 
will when called on assist him by advising him with reference to American methods 
in the conduct of his department. All correspondence as to taxation or complaints 
will be direct with the secretary, only appeals being sent to these headquarters. 

IV. Department of Interior. — A board to consist of such persons as the secretary of 
interior deems best will be organized by him to make such changes in his department 
as may be required, particular attention being paid to systems of contracts for build- 
ing roads and other works. 

V. All persons are invited to report to the commanding general any misdemeanor, 
improper conduct of officials in office, inefficient officeholders, laws or customs at 
variance with proper methods, with a view to correction or annulment of such laws 
and the punishment of offenders. Such complaints should be presented in writing 
and an accusation against any person should be accompanied with proper evidence, 
so that intelligent action may be taken in the matter. 



Ctf& 



100 REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 

All Americans or Puerto Rican Americans are urged to help in the cause of bringing 
this island to a high standard in everything, and thus reflect credit upon themselves 
and upon the United States. 

By command of Major-General Henry: 

W. P. Hall, Adjutant- General. 



General Orders, \ Headquarters Department of Puerto Rico, 

No. 17. J San Juan, February 10, 1899. 

The following resignation of the cabinet officers is published for public informa- 
tion: 
To the Honorable Major-General Commanding the Department. 

Sir: There exists in the United States an organization of the executive power 
identical with that which you apply to this island by your general orders of to-day. 
The President of the Republic governs with his secretaries, the latter being independ- 
ent each from the rest of them. But there exists also an organization of the legisla- 
tive power which arises out of suffrage, and which act with two deliberative Houses. 
In those two Houses the people of the United States have their supreme representa- 
tion. 

We would accept with gratefulness and pride, even more, we are anxious to have 
a system which has made our nation great and free; but we would accept it complete, 
so that it would answer to the legitimate aspirations of our country. You in the 
government, next to you the cabinet which you would appoint, and very near to all 
the popular legislature, telling you all the time which are the ideas and necessities of 
the island. 

' On the council of secretaries disappearing, it drags along with it the only collective 
representation of Puerto Rico, inasmuch as the North American system has not been 
yet implanted here, in all its grand and perfect amplitude. And a responsibility not 
to be eluded would fall upon us if we were to admit participation in a measure with 
which we do not feel ourselves in conformity. 

So, then, the undersigned secretaries respectfully declare: 

That they respect and comply with the orders of the major-general commanding 
the department, whereby the council of secretaries is dissolved. 

That they resign into your hands the charges with which you were pleased to 
confide to them. 

San Juan, Puerto Rico, February 6, 1899. 

Very respectfully, L. Munoz. 

Juan Hernandez Lopez. 
Cayetano Coll y Toste. 

In accepting these resignations the department commander remarks that these 
officials have at all times displayed zeal and ability. He regrets that they ask at 
present for the impossible — suffrage and a legislature. These come with Congres- 
sional legislation and are not possible now. 

The council of secretaries, consisting of heads of departments, with a president, 
which was of Spanish origin and was abolished by General Orders, No. 12, current 
series, these headquarters, simply gave to one man the opportunity to dominate all 
the departments and to enhance his political power. Such a system is contrary to 
that which should exist under the present form of government, in which there can 
only be one head, the department commander or governor-general of the island. 

Both parties, liberal and radical, are represented in the new cabinet, so that all the 
people may feel they have representation therein. 

By command of Major-General Henry: 

W. P. Hall, Adjutant-General. 



General Orders, \ Headquarters Department of Puerto Rico, 

No. 18. i San Juan, February 12, 1899. 

In view of the fact that it has been represented to the department commander, 
by petition and otherwise, to his satisfaction, that owing to the crisis caused by the 
late war and by the scarcity of money of the island seeking investment, planters 
owning valuable estates are unable to meet their debts, and that a number of firms 
in liquidating their business interests in the island are proceeding to foreclose mort- 
gages on plantations to the great distress of the owners thereof, and under existing 
laws these proceedings are of a summary nature, so that actual sales can be effected 



REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 101 

in thirty days from the time judicial notice is given, thus allowing debtors no suffi- 
cient opportunity to raise money, it is hereby directed, in the interest of equity and 
to save the agricultural industry from loss and rain, that the said law of foreclosure 
and all legal or judicial proceedings thereunder with reference to agricultural prop- 
erty and machinery be, and they are hereby, suspended for the period of one year 
from this date, namely, January 19, 1899, provided that the interest on such debts is 
paid when due at a rate not exceeding 12 per cent per annum. 

This order is not intended to affect proceedings for the collection of insular or 
municipal taxes. 

_ That this order may be put into immediate operation it is directed that it be printed 
m the Official Gazette, and also promptly communicated to all alcaldes, judges and 
courts on this island for their information and compliance. 

By command of Major-General Henry: 

W. P. Hall, Adjutant- General. 



General Orders, \ Headquarters Department of Puerto Rico, 

No. 19. _ J £ an j uan} February 12, 1899. 

_ It has been determined that at places or towns where apparently troops and 
citizens do not harmonize, owing to improper interference of troops, to withdraw 
such from those towns and to hold the alcalde and his council strictly responsible 
for law and order in his municipality. If they fail to preserve law and order, or 
show an indifference and neglect of duty, towns in which said neglects occur will 
be put under a military officer and necessary troops, and the functions of the alcalde 
council, and courts be suspended, and the town governed by military law. 

In the proposed movement of troops away from the island many towns must thus 
be left without troops, and if the civil authorities can not or will not do their duties 
the military will do it for them. If councils are composed of men who are indifferent 
to progress,_ honesty of action, or not properly representing the people, they will, on 
representation to these headquarters by the business men of the municipality be 
relieved and others put in their places. ' 

It is hoped that it will not be necessary to make an example of any municipality 
by thus showing that they are incapable of governing themselves, and thus injure 
the island and stop its progress, or future legislation. 

This order will be communicated to all concerned and placed in the Official 
Gazette, or other papers of the island. 

By command of Major-General Henry: 

W. P. Hall, Adjutant-General. 



General Orders, \ Headquarters Department of Puerto Rico, 

.No. 20. J g an j" wm> February 12, 1899. 

It having been demonstrated to the department commander for some weeks that 
matters are generally mismanaged at Aguadilla— that the comicilmen quarrel with 
one another, that they refuse to act in the interests of the people, and that money is 
corruptly used, Capt. F. W. Mansfield, Eleventh Infantry, commanding at Aguadilla, 
will notify the alcalde and the councilmen that they are deposed from office and 
that the civil authority is entirely suspended in the town. 

The above order will also apply to Moca, 

Captain Mansfield, Eleventh Infantry, will assume command of the town exercising 
the necessary civil functions, and use his troops as required by the circumstances * 

He will then call a meeting of the representative men of the town, and as soon as 
they agree upon reputable men to govern the town in the interests of the whole, he 
will induct them into office and report to these headquarters that thev are desirable 

mPTi J 



men 



From the report of the commission, composed of one radical and one liberal, which 
was sent from here, it is concluded that the liberals are more to blame than are the 
r bt M° 1S n ° ° b ^ ection t0 a radical council if good men of that party are 

The jail is also reported as dirty and overcrowded. Captain Mansfield will release 
therefrom ail those who are serving light sentences, and order the jailor to clean the 
pr Twu • a t ter as ne S lected his dut y, he will be replaced by a capable man. 

it the judges have failed to do their duty, report them to these headquarters for 
removal. * 



102 REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 

In carrying out these orders it is assumed that Captain Mansfield will use good 
judgment and discretion. If any opposition is displayed, either through failure to 
carry out his orders or through disrespect on the part of anyone, he will cause the 
offender to be placed in jail, and report the case to these headquarters. 

Captain Mansfield is also authorized to call upon several of the reputable men of 
the town to investigate the accounts of the city officials for report to these head- 
quarters. 

By command of Major-General Henry: 

W. P. Hall, Adjutant-General. 



General Orders, \ Headquarters Department of Puerto Rico, 

No. 21. j San Juan, February 15, 1899. 

1. "La Junta del Obras del Puerto de San Juan de Puerto Rico" not being com- 
patible with American methods, its duties properly pertaining to the Navy and 
Engineer Corps of the Army, is hereby dissolved. 

2. Commander A. S. Snow, U. S. N., is appointed inspector of the works, formerly 
under the Junta. 

3. Maj. E. A. Root, chief engineer, U. S. V., is placed as engineer in charge of 
these works. 

4. The inspector and engineer officer will reorganize the personnel of these works, 
retaining in service only those employees necessary, discharging the others and mak- 
ing such other changes as are necessary to make the harbor works conform to the 
American system. The tonnage dues heretofore collected by the collector of customs 
for harbor improvement being done away with and the finances of the municipality 
being in such condition as to render the payment by it of the annual appropriation 
impossible, there is appropriated from the revenues of the island $6,000 per month for 
the improvement of harbor facilities of San Juan, and additional appropriations will 
be made to execute approved plans when necessary. 

The secretary and treasurer of the Junta will turn over to Maj. E. A. Root all 
records and funds pertaining to that body, and hereafter all disbursements will be 
made by the engineer on vouchers approved by the inspector. 

By command of Major-General Henry: 

W. P. Hall, Adjutant-General. 



General Orders, \ Headquarters Department op Puerto Rico, 

No. 22. j San Juan, February 17, 1899. 

One hundred dollars reward will be given to any person for the apprehension and 
delivery to the military authorities and conviction of any one guilty of arson, mur- 
der, robbery, or violent assault for the purpose of murder or robbery on the part of 
anyone forming a combination known as the banditti or organization for violating 
the law. 

By command of Major-General Henry: 

W. P. Hall, Adjutant-General. 



General Orders, \ Headquarters Department op Puerto Rico, 

No. 23. J San Juan, February 20, 1899. 

Alcaldes and councilmen are reminded that orders are issued to be obeyed. In a 
recent case the alcalde and council resigned because they supposed they had received 
an order not agreeable to them. No order had been given, but if it had been, and 
not carried out, the course of the council would have been contumacious and in defi- 
ance of authority, and other action would have followed instead of resignations being 
accepted. 

It can not be too strongly impressed upon municipal councils that the interests of 
the municipalities depend upon their honesty, zeal, and attention to duty. Without 
this, the people they represent suffer and the progress of the island is held back. 
No more important body of men exists than the various councils, and the people 
should insist upon being properly represented by their best men and no others, and 
it should be considered an honor to hold such positions of responsibility. 

They must learn one lesson, however: that is, before they govern others or can 
give proper example to people, they must govern themselves, and obey promptly all 
legal orders, submitting for appeal any unjust ones, which will always be remedied. 

By command of Major-General Henry: 

W. P. Hall, Adjutant-General. 



REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 103 

General Orders, \ Headquarters Department op Puerto Rico, 

No. 24. J San Juan, February 21, 1899. 

To-morrow, February 22, being the anniversary of the birth of George Washington, 
the first President, of the United States of America, will be observed as a holiday. 
All public offices will be closed during the day. 
By command of Major-General Henry: 

W. P. Hall, Adjutant-General. 



General Orders, \ Headquarters Department op Puerto Pico, 

No. 26. I San Juan, February 24, 1899. 

I. The La Metralla, of Ponce, is hereby suspended from publication, and its editor 
will be brought to trial for publishing an article derogatory to a public official. 
Charges supported by proper evidence will always be considered when properly sub- 
mitted, but publication of same will result in suppression of offending paper and the 
trial of its editor. 

II. The conduct of the case now being tried at Ponce is unsatisfactory from reports 
received, and Mr. Jose Maria Figueras, of the supreme court, will proceed to Ponce 
to investigate and report upon the condition of affairs, giving upon his return such 
information as may do justice to all concerned and bring to punishment those who 
have violated the law or neglected their duty. 

By command of Major-General Henry: 

W. P. Hall, Adjutant- General. 



General Orders, \ Headquarters Department of Puerto Rico, 

No. 27. J San Juan, February 27, 1899. 

On February 12, owing to reported disagreement of councilmen and irregular con- 
duct of affairs, the civil authorities at Aguadilla and Moca were suspended and the 
military placed in charge. This warning of proposed action was made in previous 
orders in the following words: 

"If they (the concilmen) fail to preserve law and order or show an indifference 
and neglect of duty, towns in which said neglects occur will be put under a military 
officer and necessary troops and the functions of the alcade, council, and courts sus- 
pended and the town governed by military law. ' ' 

The above action was forced upon the department commander, who has always 
prevented the interference of the military with civil affairs so far as possible in order 
to give the latter an opportunity to govern themselves, using only the military to 
preserve law and order when called upon or found to be necessary. 

This statement of facts is made because it is falsely claimed by some who should 
know better that a condition of "military despotism exists on this island." 

This government is a military one, but conducted so as to give every latitude to 
the civil authorities as long as they show themselves capable of good behavior and 
self-goverment. 

The towns of Aguadilla and Moca have elected their councilmen, but Aguadilla 
has failed to elect an alcalde, the military officer still acting as such by request of 
the people. 

Beginning March 1, the military authority will be withdrawn from these towns 
and the civil reestablished, and all reports or complaints will be made to the re- 
spective cabinet officers at San Juan. 

If councils fail to elect alcaldes the secretary of state will take such action as may 
be required. 

The military will interfere with nothing, and the withdrawal of same from Agua-. 
dilla will follow if necessary to give the people of these towns a full trial in self- 
government. 

By command of Major-General Henry: 

W. P. Hall, Adjutant-General. 



General Orders, \ Headquarters Department of Puerto Rico, 

No. 28. J San Juan, February 28, 1899. 

I. The subdelegation of medicine and surgery is authorized, in accordance with 
orders of the Spanish Government elated May 29, 1866, to grant certificates of practi- 
tioners in minor surgery, provided the requirements in said order shall have been 
fulfilled. 



104 REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 

II. All certificates of surgeon dentists issued by the said subdelegation, understood 
as entitling the holders thereof to perforin the duties of doctors in dental surgery, not 
being authorized by said Spanish orders, are hereby declared null and void. 

III. The holders of these certificates shall return them within ten days to the sub- 
delegation of medicine and surgery, where they will be exchanged for certificates of 
practitioners in minor surgery. 

IV. Those who at the end of the time indicated shall not have exchanged their 
certificates, and continue practicing the profession in spite of the orders given, shall 
be called up by the mayors of the respective places, who will compel them to deliver 
the certificates, and besides levy a fine of $50 on every certificate holder. 

Y. The practitioners of dental surgery shall be allowed to practice only under the 
supervision of a doctor in dental surgery. 
By command of Major-General Henry: 

"\V. P. Hall, Adjutant-General. 



General Orders, \ Headquarters Department of Puerto Rico, 

No. 29. j San Juan, March 7, 1899. 

1. All people from abroad residing in or carrying on any industry or business in 
this island have precisely the same privileges and are subject to the same restrictions 
and taxations as the native residents and business men, except where otherwise 
specially provided in the laws of the island as at present established. They are there- 
fore required to obey the laws of the island and of the municipality where they may 
happen to reside or carry on any industry or business. 

2. In accordance with the above all such persons must pay the tax that the ayun- 
tamientos may levy upon their industry or business, and refusal to obey the lawful 
commands of such legally constituted bodies, or evasion to meet said just demands, 
will result in precisely the same stringent measures being used against them as would 
properly be used by these ayuntamientos in the case of the resident native people. 

3. The ayuntamientos are hereby warned not to consider the above paragraphs as 
authorizing any improper procedure or discrimination; strict justice and impartiality 
should be applied in all cases, and any violation of authority on their part should be 
promptly reported and action should be taken against them through the necessary 
legal channels. 

By command of Major-General Henry: . 

W. P. Hall, Adjutant-General. 



General Orders, "I Headquarters Department op Puerto Rico, 

No. 30. J San Juan, March 8, 1899. 

I. Pursuant to the third paragraph of the order of the President of the United 
States, dated January 20, 1899, relating to the current money of Puerto Rico, viz, 
" It is further ordered and directed that out of the Puerto Rican coins so received a 
convenient supply shall be retained and carried for exchange for United States money 
at the rates hereinbefore enumerated, namely, $0.60 United States money for one 
Puerto Rican silver peso," there shall be kept in the custom-houses at San Juan, 
Ponce, and Mayaguez, Puerto Rican money for exchange for American money at the 
authorized rate of exchange, that is, 1.66f pesos, Puerto Rican money for $1 American 
money. 

In making this exchange preference will be given to those who desire exchange 
for legitimate purposes, and in no case will it be exchanged for persons wdio are 
themselves engaged in exchanging money for profit. 

So long as this exchange of money shall be continued, no person engaged in busi- 
ness in Puerto Rico shall refuse to accept American money when tendered at the 
rate prescribed by the President of the United States. 

On and after July 1, 1899, and until further orders, all public dues, insular and 
municipal taxes, fines and costs will be assessed in United States money. Where 
changes in dues, salaries, etc., are not provided for, the amount of dues, salaries, 
etc., will be determined in accordance with the prescribed rate of exchange. 

It is urgently recommended that all tradesmen throughout the island express the 
price of their goods in American money, with alternate price in Puerto Rican money, 
with due regard to the authorized rate of exchange. 

II. It having been brought to the attention of the department commander that 
liquor is sold to children, to the detriment of their health and morals, the sale or 
giving of liquor of any kind by any person to any child under 14 years of age is 



REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 105 

strictly prohibited, under penalty, if convicted of violation of this order, to imprison- 
ment for sixty days, and a fine of $60 for each offense. 

The civil authorities, police, and others are enjoined to see to the proper execution 
of this order, and to do everything possible to rescue the young from reported con- 
ditions, which, if continued, are certain to ruin them morally and physically, and to 
impair their future usefulness. 

By command of Major-General Henry: 

W. P. Hall, Adjutant- General. 



General Orders, \ Headquarters Department op Puerto Rico, 

No. 32. J San Juan, March 10, 1899. 

The municipal jail at San Juan, P. R., is designated as the place of confinement for 
all military convicts upon this island who are sentenced to over six months' imprison- 
ment, and who are not sentenced to confinement in the penitentiary. All such con- 
victs will be sent by the commanding officer, under proper guard, to this place of 
confinement, where they will be delivered to the custodian of the jail, together with 
a copy of the order promulgating their sentence, and also a list of such property and 
clothing as may be in their possession. So much of their sentence as refers to hard 
labor will be executed under the direction of the health officer, to whom they will be 
delivered, under suitable guard, at such times as he may desire. 

By command of Major-General Henry: 

W. P. Hall, Adjutant- General. 



General Orders, \ Headquarters Department op Puerto Rico, 

No. 33. j San Juan, March 13, 1899. 

I. Hereafter prisoners in jail will not be shackled or placed in stocks for punish- 
ment. Punishment for misbehavior or violation of prison rules will be solitary con- 
finement with a bread and water diet, to be continued until the offender promises to 
reform. 

Those now in prison who have six months or less to serve and who have behaved 
well during their imprisonment will be restored to liberty. The names of those 
released under this order will be sent to these headquarters. 

In the future a credit of five days in each month will be allowed to each prisoner 
for good behavior, such credit to be applied in reducing the length of sentence. Mis- 
behavior will remove the credit thus earned and a new start will be necessary. 

II. At the inspection of the department commander of the prisoners at the peni- 
tentiary yesterday that institution was found to be in excellent order, very cleanly, 
and not an ill smell, its condition reflecting great credit upon the chief keeper, Mr. 
Maximino Luzunaris. If all jails were in the same condition it would be well for the 
island. 

The object of all prisons is for the protection of peaceable people living outside as 
well as for the reform of criminals by detention. When this reform has been effected 
there is no further necessity of punishment of the man. Any excess beyond this 
tends to degrade him. 

Those in charge of prisons should do everything possible consistent Avith duty to 
elevate the moral tone of their prisoners, and to this end they are at liberty to call 
upon members of the religious orders to hold services with these prisoners on Sun- 
day, and thus aid in elevating their moral characters. Such services, if properly 
conducted, particularly those of song, will save many a despairing man who in his 
surroundings has lost all hope. 

By command of Major-General Henry: 

W. P. Hall, Adjutant-General. 



General Orders, \ Headquarters Department op Puerto Rico, 

No. 35. J San Juan, March 20, 1899. 

I. It has come to the knowledge of the department commander that in some dis- 
tricts on the island many people are suffering and some have died for want of food, 
caused by poor crops, resulting from lack of rain or other unavoidable conditions. 

The department commander therefore directs that until further orders post com- 
manders consult with the alcaldes so that by a judicious issue of portions of the ration 
as set forth in paragraph 7, General Orders No. 5, Adjutant-General's Office, current 
series, to those in want, the distress may be alleviated. Attention is also invited to 



106 REPORT OF BRIGADIER-OENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 

paragraph 8, General Orders No. 110, Adjutant-General's Office, series 1898. The 
natives have suffered patiently, but care must be exercised in this issue to reach the 
needy who have been unable to secure work, and not to encourage people in shirk- 
ing work or in depending on Americans. 

II. Referring to the idle talk, the threats of violence in certain neighborhoods, the 
reported assemblages for evolutionary purposes and the numerous newspaper arti- 
cles appearing in the press of the United States, showing a restless state of affaire 
here, all these conditions intimidating the work of capitalists desiring to invest here 
are now bearing their fruit to the injury of the well-being and progress of the island. 

People of education and all having the good of the island at heart should instruct 
the ignorant, whose characters are unknown in the States, concerning the harm they 
are doing by their childish threats and utterances, exhorting them to silence of 
speech and suppression of such correspondence. - 

It is not believed that any thought of determined opposition to law and order 
exists in Puerto Rico, but should such be the truth it would be crushed at once and 
would prove to be the suicide of the island. 

By command of Major-General Henry: 

W. P. Hall, Adjutant-General. 



General Orders, \ Headquarters Department of Puerto Rico, 

No. 41. J San Juan, March 28, 1899. 

The time to be used by all the government departments in Puerto Rico will be that 
of the sixtieth meridian, designated as intercolonial time. This time is sent daily to 
all the telegraph offices, and will be obtained therefrom. 
' The signal officer of the department is charged with the carrying out of this 
regulation. 
By command of Major-General Henry: 

W. P. Hall, Adjutant- General . 



General Orders, \ Headquarters Department op Puerto Rico, 

No. 43. J San Juan, April 6, 1899. 

I. In accordance with orders from the War Department, native products of Puerto 
Rico purchased by the Commissary Department for the use of the United States 
Army will be exempt from the consumption tax. 

II. The War Department having forbidden the issue of rations to Puerto Ricans, 
commanding officers of posts are authorized, to prevent suffering among the people 
in their respective localities, to purchase necessary articles of food at a rate not to 
exceed 10 centavos a day for each needy person and to send bill for same to this 
office for payment from the moneys of the island, as directed by the authorities at 
Washington. Great discretion must be used in carrying out these instructions, and 
aid should only be extended to those who are unable to work or to obtain the same. 

III. The recent visit of the department commander to Caguas, Cayey, Aibonito,Coamo, 
Coamo Springs, Santa Isabel, Guayama, and Arroyo showed a satisfactory condition 
of affairs, and that the people are strongly in sympathy with American methods and 
progress. At Coamo Springs a most patient and commendable work is progressing in 
procuring vaccine for the benefit of the people of this island. At some of the towns 
complaint was made as to the cost of bread, 8 centavos a loaf, the same as last sum- 
mer, although the price of flour is much less now. The price should not be over 6 
centavos a pound. In the city of San Juan the price of bread is down to 4 centavos. 
It is the duty of the alcaldes to reduce as far as possible the cost of all the necessaries 
of life and to increase the tax on other articles. 

The prison at Guayama was not clean. The prison at Caguas was clean, but an 
old building. 

The quarters of the insular police and appearance of men at Santa Isabel, Guayama, 
and Caguas were very good, and particularly so at the latter place. 

While the meals were good and the beds clean at the hotels visited, the location 
and dirty condition of the water-closets, placed in or near the kitchens, as is proba- 
bly the case also in many private dwellings on the island, were most disreputable. 
Until this insanitary condition is remedied great discredit will be brought upon the 
island, as Americans view such conditions with disgust, and their recollection of 
otherwise agreeable surroundings will be marred by this unnatural and disgusting 
practice. 

IV. The habit of delegations coming to San Juan at the expense of the people or 
municipalities must be discontinued. All applications should be addressed to the 



EEPOET OF BEIGADIEE-GENEEAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 107 

proper secretary. If a reply is not received nor any action taken within a reason- 
able time, a direct application should be made to the governor-general, stating what 
is desired, the fact of inaction, and date of appeal. Valuable tame is taken up in 
talking about matters that can only be attended to in writing and by reference to the 

P1 Th?workof r building roads, taking charge of schools and jails, so as to reduce the 
taxes of the people, will be taken up as rapidly as possible. In the meantime all 
budgets will be reduced to the lowest possible limit, honest economy practiced in all 
directions, and patience exercised during this period of transition. 

By command of Major-General Henry: 

W. P. Hall, Adjutant- General. 



General Orders 1 Headquarters Department op Puerto Eico, 

No. 46. ' J S an J uan > April 15, 1899. 

The attention of the department commander has been invited by Puerto Bicans to 
the immoral conditions existing in this city, which were ignored by the Spanish 
Government, and if continued will surely impede the progress of the island. 

Childrenshould not be alloAved on the streets at night after certain hours. 

While gambling has not been interfered with, it should, if allowed, be regulated so 
that it will not become a nuisance. Police rules of well-ordered localities should 
govern in this matter. .. * . 

Every effort should be made by all good citizens and by the police to protect the 
young from evil and to bring to punishment those who defy the laws of decency, 
morality, and manhood, rules of action so strongly implanted in the human heart 
that, when violated, the conscience of the most depraved appeals to the higher 
nature. 

What applies to San Juan may also apply to other places. 

Alcaldes are directed to use every possible effort to improve the moral conditions 
in their towns. 

"Eighteousness exalteth a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people. 

By command of Major-General Henry: 

W. P. Hall, Adjutant- General. 



General Orders, \ Headquarters Department op Puerto Eico, 

j^ _ 4g_ J San Juan, April 18, 1899. 

The cost of cleaning or policing the towns belongs to the municipal budget, and if 
necessary an extra tax will be levied upon the people. Whenever troops occupy a 
town where the water system is defective, every possible assistance will be given by 
the island moneys. Money was used at San Juan for this purpose, owing to a threat- 
ened water famine and the pressure for an increased water supply. An American 
will use a bucket of water to a glassful by others. They have been accustomed to 
an abundance of water for all purposes. Some money was also allowed for sanitary 
work at the capital, the city being in a bad condition in this respect, If sickness or 
an epidemic started at the capital it would injure the whole island. It will readily 
be seen that if moneys were devoted to other towns, or each obtained a share, none 
would be left for schools, jails, and building of roads. The latter is most important 
for commercial purposes, to keep the people employed, and to obtain money for food. 
It must therefore be impressed upon the people that they must clean their own 
towns and to keep them in that condition, not only to reflect credit upon the island, 
but to also prevent disease or epidemics, which are almost always the result of lack 
of cleanliness. The latter is one of the great evils here, and has always been. The 
lack of sanitary regulations or the nonenforcement of the same must be remedied. 
Boards of health will report all alcaldes who fail to do their duty in this most 
important part of hygienic reform, and when they fail, removal will follow. 

By command of Major-General Henry: 

W. P. Hall, Adjutant-General. 

General Orders, \ Headquarters Department op Puerto Eico, 

No. 49. J San Juan, April 19, 1899. 

The following proclamation of the President of the United States is published for 
the information and guidance of all concerned: 



108 ^ REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 

(Reservation for naval purposes — Puerto Rico.) 
By the President of the United States. 

A PROCLAMATION. 

Whereas it is deemed necessary in the public interests that certain lands lying to 
the eastward of the city of San Juan, in Puerto Rico, be immediately reserved for 
naval purposes; 

Now, therefore, I, William McKinley, President of the United States, by virtue of 
the authority in me vested, do hereby declare, proclaim, and make known that the 
following-described lands be, and the same are hereby, reserved for naval purposes 
until such time as the Congress of the United States shall otherwise direct, to wit: 

First. The public land, natural, reclaimed, partly reclaimed, or which may be 
reclaimed, lying south of the Caguas road, shown on the United States hydro- 
graphic map No. 1754, of July, 1898, and for 250 feet north of said Caguas road, to 
be bounded on the west by a true north and south line passing through the eastern 
corner of the railway station shown on said map, on the south by the shore of 
the harbor, and to extend east 2,400 feet, more or less, to include 80 acres. 

Second. The entire island lying to the southward of the above-described land, and 
described on the United States hydrographic map No. 1745, of July, 1899, as Isla 
Grande, or Manglar. 

The military governor of the island of Puerto Rico will make this transfer through 
the representative of the Navy, the commandant of the United States naval station, 
San Juan, Puerto Rico, who will present this proclamation. 
. [seal.] William McKinley. 

March 29, 1899. 
By the President: 

John Hay, 

Secretary of State. 
By command of Major-General Henry: 

W. P. Hall, Adjutant-General. 

General Orders, \ Headquarters Department of Puerto Rico, 

No. 50. j San Juan, April 22, 1899. 

The department commander and military governor announces to his command and 
to the people of this island that upon his own application he will soon be relieved 
from duty here. 

In seeking this relief, which he did with reluctance, as he is deeply interested in 
his work, he felt that during the heated term he would be unable to continue his 
arduous duties and that his successor had better be appointed now than later. 

Landing in July last at Guanica and visiting Yauco, Utuado, Adjuntas, Ponce, and 
San Juan, he received abundant proofs of the loyalty and intelligence of the Puerto 
Ricans and their desire to be true Americans and to adopt the methods that have 
resulted in making the United States a great nation. 

The promises made to the military governor at the meeting of delegates last Decem- 
ber have been fully realized and he is thankful to all for their good will and hearty 
cooperation. 

He appreciates the honest and zealous work done by his secretaries and the aid 
given him in instituting reforms and amending laws. 

The Puerto Ricans must be patient and adopt as rapidly as possible all suggested 
changes, which are for the better and lead to success and to the improvement of the 
island. 

Allowances must be made for the difference in customs, in language, and the asso- 
ciations of years, all of which are hard to eliminate in a short time, but which must 
be changed before any great advance can be made. 

The methods to be pursued, he trusts and believes, will be based upon humanity 
and justice and with a due regard to the golden rule of doing unto others as we 
would like to have done to us. Following these lines considerately, success and har- 
mony will follow. Honest and zealous performance of duty by all officials and the 
prompt carrying out of all laws and reforms based upon just and moral codes should 
be the foundation stone of all action. 

He thanks the various officers and soldiers for their cooperation and willing sub- 
ordination to the civil authorities, in order that the latter might have an opportunity 
to learn and practice what will be required of them upon the removal of the military 
forces. 



REPORT OF BRIOADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 109 

He believes that a continued advance upon lines of operation already indicated, 
starting from an honest base, will meet with success and prosperity and ultimately 
result in victory and the happiness of the people. This will be the wish and thought 
of the retiring military governor, who will always cherish a most pleasant life mem- 
ory of his associations with the Puerto Ricans. 

By command of Major-General Henry: 

W. P. Hall, Adjutant- General. 



General Orders, \ Headquarters Department op Puerto Rico, 

No. 54. J San Juan, May 2, 1899. 

The following orders are issued for the information and guidance of all concerned: 

I. Eight hours in twenty-four shall be considered a day's work throughout the 
island. 

II. There shall be no tax on salaries of men or women employed or working in any 
capacity whatsoever. 

III. Only taxpayers shall be members of the municipal councils and no councilman 
shall be exempted from paying any portion of his share of legally and duly appor- 
tioned taxes. 

IV. At the end of each calendar month municipal councils shall make a report of 
absentees from their sessions to the secretary of state; and any councilman absent 
from three consecutive sessions without just cause shall be dropped under instructions 
from the secretary of state and his place duly filled. 

By command of Major-General Henry: 

W. P. Hall, Adjutan-1 General. 



General Orders, \ Headquarters Department of Puerto Rico, 

No. 55. J San Juan, May 2, 1899. 

Before leaving the island the department commander wishes to thank the insular 
police for the work they have done. He has already announced in orders his 
approval of their appearance at the various towns he has visited. 

The men composing this force should remember that they are to preserve law and 
order, and set an example to others. They should not go beyond their duty. Any 
interference with civil authorities should be avoided, as has been required by the 
military. 

The insular police have succeeded in quieting the bandits and arresting violators of 
the law and securing of criminals. This could not be done by the United States 
troops, owing to their unfamiliarity with the people, the country, and the language. 

He thanks Mr. Frank Techter for the good judgment and impartiality shown by 
him in the selection of the material that has given such good results. 

He hopes this force will continue its good work and reflect credit upon the retiring 
military governor, and bring to themselves the praise of all good citizens. 

The insular police should not hesitate to report neglects on the part of higher 
officials, but they should leave these cases to the proper authorities for settlement. 

What little trouble there has been in the past has arisen from a too great desire to 
perform duties belonging to other departments, an error likely to occur, but which 
must be guarded against. 

The military governor is much pleased with the words of commendation received 
from all parties, and again thanks the insular police and their chief for the good 
services they have already rendered. 

By command of Major-General Henry: 

W. P. Hall, Adjutant- General. 



[Nos. 61-151, issued by General Davis.] 

General Orders, \ Headquarters Department of Puerto Rico, 

No. 61. I San Juan, May 13, 1899. 

The provisions of paragraph 1, General Orders, No. 54, Headquarters Department 
of Puerto Rico, announcing that eight hours in twenty-four shall constitute a day's 
work throughout the island, must not be understood as forbidding agreement between 
employers and employees for more or less than eight hours in one day. The order 
in question does not touch upon the matter of rate of compensation for those who 



110 REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 

are employed either by the United States, the insular or municipal governments, or 
by private individuals and corporations. It is competent for the parties in interest 
to arrange and agree upon a rate of employment by the hour, but under the order in 
question it is illegal to require that any employee in public or private service shall 
work more than eight hours in one day unless the conditions of the agreement war- 
rant such extension of the working hours. This regulation applies only to engage- 
ments for service where definite compensation is agreed upon for such service. 
By command of Brigadier-General Davis: 

W. P. Hall, Adjutant- General. 



General Orders, \ Headquarters Department op Puerto Rico, 

No. 62. J San Juan, May 15, 1899. 

Capt. L. P. Davison, Fifth United States Infantry, in addition to his other duties, 
is appointed inspector of the penitentiary in this city, known as the "Presidio," and 
Avill receive and disburse all insular funds derived from customs revenue appropri- 
ated for the use of this penitentiary, rendering proper accounts and vouchers for the 
same to these headquarters through the secretary of justice. 
By command of Brigadier-General Davis: 

W. P. Hall, Adjutant-General. 



General Orders, \ Headquarters Department op Puerto Rico, 

No. 64. J San Juan, May 19, 1899. 

The following regulations are published in elucidation of General Orders, No. 63, 
current series, these headquarters. In any respect in which this order may be in 
conflict with these regulations the latter will govern. 

(1) Telegrams will be concise; all useless wo^ds omitted, and so written that 
punctuation marks are not required to insure correct understanding. The last name 
of the person addressed and of the sender of a message, or the titles of their offices, 
will generally be sufficient. 

(2) The military telegraph can be used only in the transmission of important mes- 
sages of urgency relating to public business, which if sent by mail would probably 
result in detriment to public interests. 

(3) Messages from the following classes of officials relating to urgent public busi- 
ness will be passed without charge for tolls: 

(a) Officers of the United States Government connected with the military, naval, 
postal, marine-hospital, weather, and customs services; also members of commissions 
appointed by the President who may be in Puerto Rico. 

(b) The secretaries of the civil government, viz, state, justice, treasury, and interior, 
or officers acting in any of said capacities. Replies to such officers, if conforming to 
the provisions of paragraph 2, will also be free. 

(c) The members of the supreme court and the fiscal and replies thereto. 
Id) Judges of instruction and first instance. 

\e) Alcades in communicating with secretaries of the civil government and the 
governor-general. 

(/) Officers of the insular police. 

(g) The heads of the civil departments of public works and education, including 
replies from their subordinates. 

(4) Should messages sent be which, in the judgment of the chief signal officer, con- 
tain matter not entitled to free transmission, he will submit copies of such messages 
to these headquarters. 

(5) Should important military information of an urgent character come to the 
knowledge of any telegraph operator he will transmit the same to the chief signal 
officer. 

(6) At the end of each month the chief signal officer will prepare, for the informa- 
tion of the commanding general, a statement showing what would have been the 
earnings of the telegraph on business done for each of the classes.of officers designated 
in subparagraphs b c, d, e, /, and g of paragraph 3. 

By command of Brigadier-General Davis: 

W. P. Hall, Adjutant- General. 



REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. Ill 

General Orders 1 Headquarters Department of Puerto Rico, 

No- 67, ' } San Juan, May 24, 1899. 

I. The judges of instruction and courts of justice in the island will hereafter try- 
such criminal cases now pending and incomplete before military commissions which 
may be referred to them from these headquarters through the secretary of justice. 

II. In such cases judges of instruction and courts of justice shall bear in mind 
what has been prescribed by the department of justice in the matter of detentions. 

III. Judges of instruction shall report to the department of justice such cases as 
they may have taken charge of by virtue of the present order, with specification of 
the offense and name of the indicted party in each case. 

IV. Where no proceedings have been instituted against a prisoner placed at the 
disposal of the aforesaid military commissions the proper judge of instruction shall 
try the case on the strength of the antecedents or record thereof furnished him and 
report the facts of each case to the secretary of justice. 

Bv command of Brigadier-General Davis: 

W. P. Hall, Adjutant-Genral 

General Orders, \ Headquarters Department of Puerto Rico, 

No. 68. J Sari Juan, May 24, 1899. 

I. Hereafter the chief of the penitentiary and wardens of jails in the island shall 
render weekly reports to the secretary of justice of the number of prisoners con- 
fined in their respective establishments on Saturday at 12 o'clock noon. 

II. Said weekly reports shall be placed in the first outgoing mail after the above-" 
mentioned hour, and the secretary of justice shall render to these headquarters a 
consolidated report of all weekly reports so received. 

III. The chief of the penitentiary and wardens of jails shall release all prisoners 
at 12 o'clock noon on the day on which their sentences expire unless they receive 
an order in writing from competent authority to hold them in prison for Other cause. 
In case such an order is received a copy of it shall be attached to the next weekly 
report, the prisoner being reported among those released at the expiration of their 
term and entered among those who have subsequently been admitted. 

IV. Printed forms for reports shall be furnished by the secretary of justice to 
officials for whose use they are intended. _ 

By command of Brigadier-General Davis: 

W. P. Hall, Adjutant-General. 



General Orders, \ Headquarters Department of Puerto Rico, 

No. 69. J San Juan, May 24, 1899. 

Authority having been granted by the War Department to Spanish lawyers here 
resident to practice their profession in this island, the limitation of one year imposed 
by paragraph 1 of judicial order of April 18, published in No. 95 of the Official 
Gazette, is hereby rescinded, and their right to practice law is guaranteed without 
limitation as to time. 
By command of Brigadier-General Davis: 

W. P. Hall, Adjutant-General. 

General Orders, \ Headquarters Department of Puerto Rico, 

No. 71. J San Juan, May 31, 1899. 

Upon the recommendation of the secretary of justice, the following is promulgated: 

I. Any justice of the supreme court of Puerto Rico, or of any audiencia, or any 
judge of instruction, shall issue the writ of habeas corpus on the petition of any per- 
son who is restrained of his liberty within their respective judicial districts. But 
when such writ so issuing from such court is served upon any person who holds a 
prisoner subject to United States authority, the body of the prisoner will not be pro- 
duced, but respectful return will be made setting forth that the prisoner is held under 
color of the authority of the United States, and that therefore the court issuing the 
writ is without jurisdiction, and praying that the writ be therefore dismissed. 

II. Upon ascertainment by such judge or court issuing the writ that such return 
is true in fact, the writ shall be dismissed. 

III. The secretary of justice will see that this order is duly observed. Instructions, 
approved by the commanding general, and printed blank forms will be supplied on 
application to the secretary of justice. 

By command of Brigadier-General Davis: 

W.P. Hall, Adjutant- General. 



112 KEPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 

General Orders, \ Headquarters Department of Puerto Rico, 

No. 72. / San Juan, June 2, 1S99. 

I. On and after July 1, 1899, the office of court physician (medico forense) shall 
cease to exist. 

II. The duties heretofore pertaining to the office of the court physician shall be per- 
formed by the municipal physician (medico titular) of the district in which the case 
or subject for medical examination arises. 

III. On and after June 10, 1899, the office of chaplain in jails of this island shall 
cease to exist. Religious services may be conducted in the penitentiary or in any jail 
by a priest or minister of any religious society or denomination upon "application to 
the warden twenty-four hours in advance of' the proposed services. Sick prisoners 
will be permitted to receive personal visits from ministers or priests upon application 
to the warden. 

By command of Brigadier-General Davis: 

W. P. Hall, Adjutant- General. 



General Orders, \ Headquarters Department of Puerto Rico, 

No. 77. / San Juan, June 12, 1899. 

I. On and after June 15, 1899, the jails of this island will be under the manage- 
ment of a board of prison control. 

II. This board will be composed of five members, as follows: 
Hon. Jose Severo Quiilones, president of the supreme court. 

Maj. A. C. Sharpe, inspector-general, U. S. V., acting judge-advocate. 
Maj. L. P. Davison, U. S. V., commanding Puerto Rican Battalion. 
Hon. Rafael Romeu y Aguayo, fiscal of the supreme court. 
Hon. Manuel F. Rossy, lawyer. 

III. Three members will constitute a quorum. The first member named herein 
will preside. In his absence the board will choose a temporary chairman. 

IV. The board will meet at San Juan on the first Monday in each month and at 
such other times as it may desire. 

V. The board will also act as a board of pardons, to whom all applications for 
pardon, remission, or mitigation of punishment of prisoners will be submitted and 
its recommendations transmitted to the commanding general for his action. 

VI. The board will meet as soon as practicable to prepare and submit to the com- 
manding general regulations covering the administration of prisons, the supply of 
food, clothing, and medical attendance of prisoners, as well as for the maintenance, 
repair, and construction of jail buildings. 

VII. The inspector of jails will act as secretary and interpreter for the board. 
By command of Brigadier-General Davis: 

W. P. Hall, Adjutant-General. 



General Orders, \ Headquarters Department of Puerto Rico, 

No. 80. J San Juan, June 17, 1899. 

It having come to the knowledge of this office that certain alcalde shave failed to 
comply with that provisions of Circular No. 3, from these headquarters, which directs 
them "to use all their authority to secure prompt compliance on the part of the 
people with the order requiring all the inhabitants to present themselves for vacci- 
nation when notified," and whereas by reason of this neglect on the part of the 
alcaldes some persons have resisted vaccination and others have regarded it with 
indifference; therefore it is ordered that — 

First. Upon receipt of notification from the director of vaccination of the time that 
the vaccinators would begin work in any particular municipal district, or part thereof, 
the alcade of that district will immediately order the people to assemble at the 
appointed time and places for vaccination. 

Second. Within ten days, counting from the day after the publication of the order, 
all the inhabitants of the municipality so notified must comply with the law requir- 
ing them to be vaccinated, or present a certificate from proper authority that they 
have been successfully vaccinated within a year, or must present satisfactory evidence 
of their inability to comply with the order. 

Third. Those who at the end of the specified time are not vaccinated or who do 
not possess the required certificate, or are not excused by proper authority on 
account of sickness or other disability, shall be arrested and fined by the alcalde (for 
the benefit of the municipal treasury) the sum of $10 United States currency, and if 



REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 113 

they then refuse vaccination, will he fined 85 United States currency for each day 
thereafter until vaccinated. 

Fourth. Those who fail to pay the fine within forty-eight hours, counting from the 
time they are notified to do so, shall instead suffer ten days' imprisonment and there- 
after five days for each additional offense. 

By command of Brigadier-General Davis: 

W. P. Hall, Adjutant-General. 



General Orders, \ Headquarters Department of Puerto Rico. 

No, 84. / San Juan, June 23, 1899. 

I. For the examination of documents presented by teachers who compete in the 
concourse announced in the Official Gazette for the provision of vacant schools, a 
commission will be nominated by the Secretary of the Interior upon recommenda- 
tion of the bureau of education to consist of one member of the board of education 
of San Juan, one public school professor, one lady teacher of the public school, one 
of the inspectors of the bureau of education, and one father of a family. 

II. This commission will meet the day following the last day of the concourse to 
examine the documents and to nominate, in conformity with the provisions of the 
law, the teacher who possesses best rights to each school for which application is 
made. 

By command of Brigadier-General Davis: 

W. P. Hall, Adjutants General. 



General Orders, "I Headquarters Department of Puerto Rico, 

No. 87. j San Juan, Jane 16, 1899. 

The system and methods of accounting for insular revenues and disbursements from 
insular funds under the United States military government of Puerto Rico, as pro- 
vided for in the Executive order of the President of United States, of May 8, 1899, 
and the rules and instructions to carry the same into effect, promulgated by the 
Assistant Secretary of War, May 11, 1899, will be enforced and observed in the island 
of Puerto Rico and its dependencies from and after July 1, 1899. 

I. 

METHOD OF ACCOUNTING FOR INSULAR REVENUES. 

1. All revenues collected and received under the United States military government 
of Puerto Rico, excepting those collected for the support of municipalities, are required 
to be paid hi full to the treasurer of Puerto Rico, at San Juan, without any deduction. 

2. Officers and agents who collect and receive insular revenues will not, therefore, 
be authorized or permitted to use and apply the same or any part thereof to the pay- 
ment of the salaries and expenses of their respective officers, or for other purposes, 
and to charge such disbursements in their revenue accounts. Advances of .money to 
pay needful and proper expenditures will be made to officers and agents authorized 
to disburse insular revenues upon requisition and warrants, as hereinafter provided, 
and in paying such warrants the treasurer may draw on the revenues in the hands of 
any officer, as hereinafter provided in paragraph 18. 

3. The monthly revenue accounts rendered by the officers or agents who collect and 
receive insular revenues must embrace the full amounts collected and received dur- 
ing the month for which such accounts are respectively rendered, which amounts 
will be paid in full to the treasurer of Puerto Rico, as hereinafter provided; and any 
draft of the treasurer drawn in favor of any officer payable from revenues in his 
hands, as hereinafter provided in paragraph 18, when so paid, indorsed, and returned 
to the treasurer, will be treated as a remittance in cash. 

4. The treasurer will issue receipts in duplicate for moneys paid to him, which 
receipts must be countersigned by the auditor of Puerto Rico, in order to make them 
valid vouchers. After such receipts have been countersigned by the auditor, the 
originals will be retained in his office and the duplicates will be delivered or trans- 
mitted by him to the officers or agents by whom the payments were made. Such 
duplicate receipts will constitute the official vouchers upon which the officers or 
agents making the payments will receive credit in the settlement of their monthly 
revenue accounts by the auditor, and mast be transmitted with such accounts when 
rendered. 

12558 8 



114 REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 

5. The collectors of customs and collectors of internal revenues stationed in San 
Juan and Ponce will each day deposit the revenues collected by them, respectively, 
with De Ford & Co. (the depositary for insular funds in those cities) to the credit of 
the treasurer of Puerto Rico and taking duplicate receipts therefor, one of which 
shall in each case lie transmitted by the person making the deposit to the treasurer 
of Puerto Rico, with a written statement showing on account of what fund or class of 
revenues the deposit was made; and upon receiving the same the treasurer will issue 
his receipts in duplicate to such depositor in the manner already indicated. The 
receipts issued by the depositary for insular funds at San Juan and Ponce must show 
that the deposits are made to the credit of the treasurer of Puerto Rico, and give the 
names and official titles of the officers making such deposits. 

6. The collectors of customs and collectors of internal revenues at ports or places 
other than San Juan and Ponce will transmit the funds collected by them, respec- 
tively, to the treasurer of Puerto Rico by an agent or officer of the military government 
duly authorized to receive and receipt for the same, who will visit the places where 
such collectors are stationed at least once in each month, and oftener if deemed 
necessary, for the purpose of receiving the funds. 

7. The collectors of customs and collectors of internal revenues will deliver the 
packages containing the funds to be transmitted to the treasurer, with a written 
statement therein giving the amounts and kinds of money inclosed and on account of 
what funds or class of revenues the money is to be credited. Such packages will be 
sealed with wax and addressed to the treasurer of Puerto Rico at San Juan, and the 
amount and kind of money inclosed in each package must be indorsed thereon. 

8. The packages when received by the treasurer will be opened in the presence of 
witnesses, the money counted, and duplicate receipts issued by the treasurer in favor 
of the officers making the payments for the respective amounts contained in the 
packages. 

II. 

RENDITION OF REVENUE ACCOUNTS. 

9. All officers or agents who collect or receive revenues of any kind or class under 
the United States military government of Puerto Rico, excepting those collected for 
the support of municipalities, are required to render their accounts of the same 
monthly to the auditor of Puerto Rico at San Juan. 

10. The rules and instructions aforenamed, promulgated by the War Department, 
require that such revenue accounts shall be ' ' accompanied with proper itemized and 
certified statements and returns of revenue collected, shoAving when, by whom,- and 
on what account paid." 

11. Collectors of customs for each of the ports of Puerto Rico and its dependencies, 
to which collectors are assigned, will render monthly accounts of all customs revenues 
and duties collected directly to the auditor of Puerto Rico at San Juan. 

12. Acting postmasters will render monthly accounts of all postal revenues collected 
and fees received from money-order business directly to the auditor of Puerto Rico at 
San Juan. Accounts for postal receipts and accounts for fees from money-order 
business must be rendered separately. Money-order statements must be rendered 
weekly to the auditor. 

13. Collectors of internal revenues for each of the nine districts provided for in the 
regulations approved by the governor-general of Puerto Rico, January 28, 1899, will 
render monthly accounts of all internal revenues and miscellaneous receipts, of what- 
ever kind collected and received, to the auditor of Puerto Rico through the secretary 
of finance at San Juan. 

14. Accounts for internal revenues collected, namely, rural tax, urban tax, tax on 
industries, tax on commerce, taxes in arrears, and other outstanding debts will con- 
stitute one class of revenue accounts; while accounts for miscellaneous receipts 
collected, namely, licenses to carry arms, government fines, judicial fines, sales of 
unclaimed property, "canons" (rents of buildings and lands belonging to the island 
of Puerto Rico) , rents of insular property, annuities for property formerly monarchical, 
state promissory notes, imposts on mineral claims, and rents of salt mines will con- 
stitute the other class of revenue accounts. 

15. Collect( >rs of internal revenue are required to render separate revenue accounts 
monthly of all money collected and received under each of the two classes or heads 
of accounts; that is, one monthly account of internal-revenue receipts (internal re ve- 
nues) and another monthly account of miscellaneous receipts. 



KEPOET OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 115 

III. 

DISBURSEMENTS AND THE RENDITION OF DISBURSING ACCOUNTS. 

(«) Requisitions. 

16. All officers and agents authorized to disburse insular revenues will make 
monthly requisitions for such amounts as shall be required to defray the necessary 
expenditures for one month to be paid by them, respectively. Such requisitions 
should be made at least ten days before the expiration of the month for which the 
funds are needed, should be transmitted to the auditor of Puerto Rico in the manner 
hereinafter provided, and in every case be accompanied with an itemized estimate 
setting forth in detail the character and class of expenditures for Avhich the advance 
of funds is asked. Printed forms for requisitions and estimates will be furnished by 
the auditor. 

_ 17. Every requisition will be referred by the auditor, with the required informa- 
tion from the books in his office, to the governor-general, and after his approval of 
same an accountable warrant drawn upon the treasurer will be issued by the auditor 
and countersigned by the governor-general, payable from the proper fund. The 
amount of such accountable warrant will be charged on the auditor's books to the 
officer or agent receiving the advance of funds, and he will be held accountable 
therefor until his monthly account for the same with the necessary vouchers shall 
have been received and allowed by the auditor. 

18. In the payment of such accountable warrants the treasurer will issue a draft in 
favor of the officer or disbursing agent to whom the warrant is made payable, such 
draft being drawn on the depositary for insular funds, either at San Juan or Ponce, 
or upon the officer himself; in which latter case the treasurer's draft so drawn will 
be the authority to the officer to pay the same out of revenues in his hands, and 
when so paid and properly indorsed such draft will be returned to the treasurer in 
lieu of cash when the officer makes remittances of funds to close his revenue account 
at the end of the month. In order that the treasurer may be advised whether the 
revenues in the hands of an officer are sufficient to pay the amount to be advanced 
on his requisition, each officer who collects revenues and also makes disbursements, 
in forwarding his monthly requisition to the auditor, will state the amount of reve- 
nues in his hands at the time of making such requisition. 

19. Collectors of customs will forward their requisitions for the amounts necessary 
to pay the salaries and expenses of their respective offices for one month, with 
properly itemized estimates, directly to the auditor of Puerto Rico at San Juan. 

20. No requisitions will be made by acting postmasters. The director-general of 
posts, at San Juan, will make monthly requisitions for such amounts as shall be 
required to pay the expenses of the postal service of Puerto Rico and its dependen- 
cies, including the salaries and expenses of all post-offices, for one month, and 
forward the same with an itemized estimate of the amounts required, directlv to the 
auditor of Puerto Rico at San Juan. 

21. Collectors of internal revenue for the several districts will make requisitions 
for the amounts necessary to pay the salaries and compensations in their respective 
offices, for necessary office supplies, and for all other compensations and expenses pay- 
able by them within their respective districts, and transmit with the same itemized 
estimates giving in detail each class and character of expenditure. The requisitions 
of collectors of internal revenue will be addressed to the auditor of Puerto Rico and 
forwarded to him through the secretary of finance at San Juan. 

22. Officers making disbursements in special departments, such as the bureau of 
public works, board of health, insular police, bureau of education, bureau of agri- 
culture, quarantine office, marine hospital, harbor works, provisional court, and 
light-houses, will forward their monthly requisitions, with properly itemized estimates 
of the amounts required for one month, directly to the auditor of Puerto Rico at 
San Juan. 

(b) Rendition of accounts of disbursements. 

23. The officers or agents disbursing insular revenues will render monthly accounts 
of their disbursements to the auditor. In such accounts the officers or agents will 
charge themselves with the respective amounts received upon requisitions, giving the 
numbers, dates, and amounts of the drafts received from the treasurer, and the 
warrants on which such drafts are drawn; and they will take credit for the respective 
amounts disbursed, which must in all cases be supported by proper vouchers. Each 
account of disbursement must be accompanied with an abstract of the vouchers 
paid, entered therein according to the numbers of the vouchers. The vouchers 
should be numbered consecutively, according to the dates of payment. 



116 REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 

24. Monthly accounts of disbursements made by collectors of customs, acting as 
disbursing agents, will be forwarded with proper vouchers, directly to the auditor of 
Puerto Rico at San Juan. 

25. The director-general of post* will render his monthly accounts of disburse- 
ments and expenses of the postal service, including the salaries and expenses of 
post-offices of Puerto Rico and its dependencies, with proper vouchers therefor, 
directly to the auditor. 

26. Collectors of internal revenue for the nine districts of Puerto Rico and its 
dependencies, will render their monthly accounts of disbursements, with proper 
vouchers, to the auditor of Puerto Rico, transmitting the same through the secretary 
of finance. 

27. Officers disbursing for special departments, such as the bureau of public works, 
board of health, insular police, bureau of education, bureau of agriculture, quaran- 
tine office, marine hospital, harbor works, provisional court, and light-houses, will 
render their monthly accounts of disbursements directly to the auditor of Puerto 
Rico at San Juan. 

28. The treasurer will render his monthly account of general receipts and expend- 
itures directly to the auditor. 

29. The treasurer, as disbursing agent, will pay the salaries and contingent expenses 
of the office of the auditor of Puerto Rico, and such salaries and contingent expenses 
in the office of the governor-general and in the treasurer's office and board of prison 
control, as are paid from insular funds. For this purpose, moneys will lie advanced 
to the treasurer, as disbursing agent, upon monthly requisitions (with proper esti- 
mates) and accountable warrants. He will render his accounts monthly for such 
disbursements to the auditor. 

IV. 

SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS. 

30. Accounts must be rendered and stated with the United States military govern- 
ment of Puerto Rico and in the money of account of the United States. 

31. Accounts and vouchers must be written in ink or typewritten, or with indel- 
ible pencil. 

32. Accounts and vouchers should be rendered in the English language, or where 
the original account and vouchers are made out in the Spanish language, if possible, 
a correct translation into the English language must be forwarded therewith. Orig- 
inal vouchers will be required in all cases; copies of vouchers can not be accepted as 
sufficient. Where the officer, for his own protection, desires to retain an original 
voucher, he should take the receipts or vouchers in duplicate, forwarding the original 
with his account and retaining the duplicate. 

33. "Where the signature to a receipted voucher is not written by the hand of the 
party purporting to sign same, but is made by his cross mark (X) , such signature 
must be properly witnessed. 

34. All vouchers for supplies purchased should have indorsed thereon the usual 
certificate, stating that the prices are correct and the goods have been delivered, and 
vouchers for services rendered should be certified, showing that the periods of time 
charged for are correct, and that the services have been rendered. 

35. It is made the duty of the auditor of Puerto Rico in every case where the 
monthly account of any officer or agent collecting or disbursing insular revenues 
has not been received in the auditor's office within twenty (20) days after the expi- 
ration of the month to which such account pertains, to report the name of such officer 
or agent and his delinquency to the governor-general for proper action. Accounts 
must, therefore, be rendered promptly so as to reach the auditor's office within the 
prescribed time. 

CUSTOMS REVENUE ACCOUNTS. 

36. To facilitate the labor of auditing customs revenue accounts, the collectors, in 
rendering the same, are required to attach together in proper order all entries and 
papers relating to the duties collected on account of each vessel; namely: Original 
manifests, original declarations with invoices and bills of lading attached, returns of 
tonnage dues, and returns of alien passenger tax, and to file therewith a list of the 
amounts collected properly footed. The returns of tonnage dues must show whether 
charged on the registered tonnage of the vessel or on the gross weight of the cargo 
unloaded. When the tonnage is charged on the gross weight of cargo unloaded 
and the manifest does not show the gross weight, a list of the amounts of the gross 
weights as set forth in the declarations, correctly footed, should be furnished with 



REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 117 

the collector's account. Returns of alien passenger tax or head money should give 
the names of the persons on whose account the tax of $1 per capita was collected. 

37. The collectors of each port are required to forward with their monthly account 
of customs revenues collected lists of all articles remaining in the warehouses of such 
ports, respectively, which have not been entered for payment within five days after 
their arrival in port, and also lists of abandoned articles remaining in such ware- 
houses. 

38." The findings of the inspectors of customs showing the kind, quality, and quan- 
titv of articles inspected, must be indorsed on each invoice. 

39. Itemized returns, duly certified, of receipts of goods sold and receipts from 
storage dues and seizures, must be furnished with each monthly account. 

40. Declarations should not be extended by importers further than to state the 
rates of duties to be assessed, and the rates of duties thus stated on the invoice shall 
be advisory only; the final column showing the total duty to be paid should be 
extended by the collector and not by the importer. 

41. Collectors of customs will take up and account for all consular fees received by 
them under the provisions of Circular No. 16, from the War Department, 1899. 

By command of Brigadier-General Davis: 

W. P. Hall, Adjutant- General. 



General Orders, \ Headquarters Department of Puerto Rico, 

No. 88. J Sa n Juan, June 21, 1899. 

I. In view of existing and steadily increasing legal business requiring judicial 
determination, which does not fall within the jurisdiction of the local insular courts, 
such as smuggling goods in evasion of revenue laws, larceny of United States property, 
controversies between citizens of different States and of foreign states, violation of 
the United States postal laws, etc., and pursuant to authority from the President of 
the United States, conveyed bv indorsement of April 14, 1899, from the Acting Sec- 
retary of War, and after full conference with the supreme court and members of the 
bar of the island, a United States provisional court is hereby established for the 
department of Puerto Rico. 

II. The judicial power of the provisional court hereby established shall extend to 
all cases which would be properly cognizable by the circuit or district courts of the 
United States under the Constitution, and to all common-law offenses within the 
restrictions hereinafter specified. 

III. Art. Ill, sec. 2, paragraph 1, of the Constitution is as follows: 

1. "The judicial Power shall extend to all Cases, in Law and Equity, arising under 
this Constitution, the Laws of the United States, and Treaties made, or which shall 
be made, under their authority; to all Cases affecting Ambassadors, other public Min- 
isters and Consuls; to all Cases of Admiralty and Maritime Jurisdiction; to contro- 
versies to which the United States shall be a Party; to controversies between two or 
more States; between a State and Citizens of another State; between Citizens of dif- 
ferent States; between Citizens of the same State claiming Lands under Grants of dif- 
ferent States, and between a State, or the Citizens thereof, and Foreign States, Citizens 
or Siibi6cts. ' J 

IV. The decisions of said court shall follow the principles of common law and 
equity as established by the courts of the United States, and its procedure, rules, and 
records shall conform as nearly as practicable to those observed and kept in said 
Federal courts. Its terms and places of sitting shall be fixed by the court at such 
times and places as may be most convenient for the parties litigant and to insure the 
expeditious transaction of business. 

V. The provisional court shall consist of three judges, one of whom shall be known 
as the law judge, and the other two as associate judges, one United States district 
attorney, one marshal, one clerk, three deputy clerks, one stenographer and reporter, 
one interpreter, one bailiff and janitor, and one messenger. The law judge shall 
preside and shall determine and decide all technical questions of law. A majority 
vote of the bench shall determine all questions of fact. The jury system may be 
introduced or dispensed with in any particular case, in the discretion of the court. 

VI. The judges of the provisional court shall be clothed with the powers vested in 
the judges of the circuit or district courts of the United States. 

VII. The district attorney shall be authorized to present to the court informations 
against all parties for violations of the United States statutes and regulations. He 
shall also in like manner present informations for violations of orders issued by the 
department commander relating to civil matters which may be referred to him from 
these headquarters. It shall also be his duty to represent the United States in all 



118 REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 

suits to which it is a party and to perform such other duties as usually pertain to the 
district attorneys in the Federal courts of the United States. 

VIII. In order to define more clearly certain branches of the criminal jurisdiction 
of the provisional court, it is hereby provided that it shall include and be exclusive 
in the following classes of cases: 

First. All offenses punishable under the statutory laws of the United States, such 
as those indicated in Paragraph I of this order. 

Second. Offenses committed by or against persons, foreigners, or Americans, not resi- 
dents of this department, but who may be traveling or temporarily sojourning therein, 
or against the property of nonresidents. 

Third. Offenses against the person or property of persons belonging to the Army or 
Navy, or those committed by persons belonging to the Army or Navy, not properly 
triable by military or naval courts, but not including minor police offenses. 

Fourth. Offenses committed by or against foreigners, or by or against citizens of 
another State, district, or Territory of the United States residing in this department. 

IX. Cases arising under Article XI of the Treaty of Peace between the United 
States and Spain will be determined as therein provided. 

X. In civil actions when the amount in controversy is $50 or over, and in which 
any of the classes of persons above enumerated in Paragraph VIII are parties, or in 
which the parties litigant by stipulation invoke its jurisdiction, shall be brought in 
the provisional court: Provided, That in the determination of all suits to which Puerto 
Rieans are parties, or of suits arising from contracts which have been or shall be made 
under the provisions of Spanish or Puerto Rican laws, the court shall, as far as prac- 
ticable, conform to the precedents and decisions of the United States courts in similar 
cases which have been tried and determined in territory formerly acquired by the 
United States from Spain or Mexico. In all other civil actions the case shall lie 
within the jurisdiction of the proper insular court as now provided by local law. 

XL If any party litigant shall feel aggrieved by the judgment or decree of said 
court, a stay of ninety days shall be granted such party before the execution of such 
judgment or decree, upon the filing of a bond by him with sureties in an amount and 
with such conditions as the court may determine, for the purpose of allowing such 
party to make application to the Supreme Court of the L T nited States for a writ of cer- 
tiorari or other suitable process to review such judgment or decree. But if at the end 
of said ninety days such process has not been issued by the Supreme Court execution 
shall forthwith issue. 

XII. The department commander will exercise the power of pardon, commutation, 
or mitigation of punishment in criminal cases. 

XIII. All fees, fines, and costs paid to the clerk of the provisional court shall be 
turned over by him at the end of each calendar month to the treasurer of the island, 
with a statement of the sources from which they are received. 

_ XIV. Members of the bar of Puerto Rico will be admitted to practice in the pro- 
visional court upon presentation of a certificate signed by the president of the supreme 
court of Puerto Rico certifying to their professional standing. 

XV. All lawyers practicing in the provisional court who are unfamiliar with the 
English language shall be permitted upon application to use their own interpreter 
when addressing the court. 

XVI. The court shall adopt an appropriate seal, which will be procured by the 
treasurer of the island. The clerk of the court shall have the custody of the seal for 
use in attesting legal documents in the usual manner. 

XVII. In accordance with the provisions of Paragraph V of this order the follow- 
ing appointments are announced to take effect July 1, 1899: 

To be law judge, Noah Brooks Kent Pettingill. 

To be provisional United States attorney, J. Marbourg Keedy. 

The following officers are hereby detailed on the special duty set opposite their 
respective names: 

Maj. Eugene D. Dimmick, Fifth U. S. Cavalry, Maj. Earl D. Thomas, Fifth U. S. 
Cavalry, associate judges of the United States provisional court, 

First Lieut. Robert Alexander, Eleventh U. S. Infantry, clerk of the United States 
provisional court. 

Private Samuel C. Bothwell, Troop D, Fifth U. S. Cavalry, is detailed on special 
duty as marshal of the United States provisional court. 

The necessary deputies will be detailed in subsequent orders. 

The officers named will proceed to San Juan and report to the adjutant-general of 
the department. 

The travel enjoined is necessary for the public service. 

By command of Brigadier-General Davis: 

W. P. Hall, Adjutant- General. 



REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 119 

General Orders, \ Headquarters Department of Puerto Rico, 

No. 91. J San Juan, June 29, 1899. 

I. A superior board of health is hereby constituted for Puerto Rico, the authority 
of which will extend throughout this department, and to which all local boards of 
health will regularly report. 

The board will for the present be composed of six members, as follows: Maj. John 
Van R. Hoff, surgeon, U. S. A., chief surgeon of the department; Surg. Arthur H. 
Glennan, U. S. Marine-Hospital Service; Surg. F. W. F. Wieber, TJ. S. N.; Dr. 
George G. Groff ; Dr. Gabriel Ferrer, and Dr. Ricardo Hernandez. 

The chief surgeon of the department will act as president of the board and Dr. 
George G. Groff is appointed secretary and treasurer. 

The office of the board will be at these headquarters, where its meetings will ordi- 
narily be held at such times as may be appointed. Four members will constitute a 
quorum. 

The board will meet as soon as practicable to prepare regulations covering the scope 
of its work, which will be submitted to the department commander. 

II. On and after July 1, 1899, the management and control of the insane asylum 
at San Juan, now under charge of the bureau of education, will be transferred to the 
superior board of health of Puerto Rico, and the public funds allotted for the sup- 
port of the asylum will be disbursed and accounted for by the treasurer of the board 
under its direction. 

By command of Brigadier-General Davis: 

W. P. Hall, Adjutant-General. 



General Orders, \ Headquarters Department of Puerto Rico, 

No. 93. J San 'Juan, July 8, 1899. 

With a view to lessening the expenses of school administration and to securing the 
advantage of competent counsel in educational matters, and upon the recommenda- 
tion of the director of public instruction, a board of education similar to like boards 
in States of the Union is hereby constituted for this island. This board shall act in 
a general advisory and superintending capacity over the educational interests of 
Puerto Rico, and shall report directly to the governor-general of the island. 

I. This board will consist of five members, who shall be men conversant with 
educational affairs, and who are willing to serve without compensation, except for 
necessary traveling expenses. Three members shall constitute a quorum for the 
transaction of business. 

II. Meetings shall be held monthly at the office of the president of the school 
board, in San Juan, and at such other times as the board may deem necessary. _ 

III. The employees of the bureau of education, as provided for in the educational 
budget for the coming fiscal year, shall be transferred to the board of education, and 
said bureau shall cease to exist with the issue of this order. The president of the 
school board shall perform the duties formerly falling upon the director of public 
instruction, except so far as they are modified by this order. 

IV. The duties of the board of education shall be — 

1. To receive complaints and petitions from citizens or teachers affecting public 
instruction, and to act upon the same. 

2. To approve the warrants for appropriations due the bureau of education and to 
audit and approve the monthly financial report to the director of public instruction 
to the auditor of the island. 

3. To approve the appointment of administrative officers and teachers in secondary 
and higher schools. 

4. To grade schools and determine the courses of studies, examinations, and stand- 
ard of requirements to be maintained in schools of different grades; to grant charters 
to private educational institutions desiring to confer degrees; to grant diplomas to 
students who have completed required courses in chartered educational institutions 
or in a public institution under the direct supervision of the board. 

5. To decide, subject to the approval of the governor-general, upon the sites and 
location of public educational institutions under the direct control of the State, and 
upon the appropriations neccessary for the support of the same, and to supervise and 
control the erection, maintenance, and repairs of buildings occupied by such institu- 
tions, and of the furniture and apparatus employed in the same. 

6. To nominate to the governor-general suitable persons as members of the local 
boards of trustees in each municipality to discharge the duties now performed by local 
juntas of public instruction wherever in the judgment of the board such change is 
deemed advisable. 



120 REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 

7. To make a quarterly return to the governor-general of the property of the bureau 
of education and the institutions under its direct charge, with a list of their employees 
and salaries. 

8. To recommend modifications and amendments to the school laws. 

9. Appeal from the decisions of the board may be taken to the governor-general. 
V. The following gentlemen, having consented to serve underthe conditions stated 

in this order, are hereby appointed members of the board of education of Puerto Rico: 
Victor S. Clark, Ph. P., acting director of public instruction, San Juan (ex officio) ; 

George (i. Groff, M. D., Ph. D., ex-president Bucknell University, Pennsvlvania, San 

Juan; Prof. Henry Huyke, Arroyo; Jose E. Saldaiia, M. D., San Juan; R. H. Todd, 

San Juan. 

By command of Brigadier-General Davis: 

W. P. Hall, Adjutant- General. 



General Orders, \ Headquarters Department of Puerto Rico, 

No. 95. J San Juan, July 11, 1899. 

TJpon the recommendation of the secretary of justice the primary court of the dis- 
trict of the cathedral, in the city of San Juan, is hereby discontinued. 

The business pending before this court, together with the records thereof, will be 
transferred to the primary court of the district of San Francisco, which will hereafter 
be designated as the primary court of the district of San Juan. 

The jurisdiction of the primary court of the district of San Juan will embrace the 
districts heretofore controlled by the primary courts of the district of the cathedral 
and San Francisco, including the district of Bayamon, which is transferred from the 
jurisdiction of Vega-Baja. 

The officials and employees of the primary court of the district of the cathedral 
will he discharged, to date July 15, 1899. 

By command of Brigadier-General Davis: 

W. P. Hall, Adjutant-General. 



General Orders, \ Headquarters Department of Puerto Rico, 

No. 97. J San Juan, July U, 1899. 

The following rules will be observed as respects the conduct of the public business 
in the several civil departments and bureaus: 

I. The heads of the several civil departments and the heads of bureaus and offices 
which are independent of the civil departments will have the control and manage- 
ment of the administrative and executive work committed to their charge. They 
will be held responsible that the work of their respective offices is efficiently per- 
formed and that all persons employed under their direction render full and efficient 
service. 

II. Officials and others who are receiving salaries exceeding $1,200 per annum will 
not be appointed, discharged, or promoted without the approval of the governor- 
general, but this approval is not necessary with respect to discharges, appointment, 
or promotion of employees whose rate of compensation is $1,200 per annum and less. 
Action with respect to the latter class of employees will rest with the head of the 
department, office, or board, as the case may be. 

III. Officials, clerks, and other employees provided for and authorized to be 
employed in any department, office, board, or bureau will not be assigned to duty or 
permitted to work in any other office, board, or bureau. 

IV. The allowance in the annual budget for any branch of the public service will 
not be exceeded without the express authority of the governor-general given in 
writing. 

V. In view of the unavoidable delay in publishing the budget for the fiscal year 
1899-1900 it is ordered that all officials and employees who continue in office shall 
receive their salaries from the 1st of July and during their employment in accordance 
with the budget for the current year, but those holding positions that have been dis- 
continued and are not hereafter to be allowed will be paid to date of their discharge 
in accordance with the allowances made therefor in the last annual budget. 

VI. The use of the "penalty" envelope in the transaction of official business by 
the heads of departments, boards, bureaus, and the higher courts of justice connected 
with or carried on under the military government of the island is allowed, but courts 
of first instance have an allotment for postage in the budget and will not therefore 
be permitted to use the penalty envelopes. The postal expenses of municipal gov- 



REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 121 

ernments and municipal courts are to be provided for by their respective municipal 
councils. 
By command of Brigadier-General Davis: 

TV. P. Hall, Adjutant- General. 



General Orders, \ Headquarters Department of Puerto Rico, 

Xo. 98. / San Juan, July 15, 1899. 

In order to further reduce public expenditures, and in practical accordance with 
the recommendations of committees composed of public-spirited citizens of this island, 
Avhose advice and counsel has been solicited, and with the advice of the secretary of 
justice, it is hereby ordered as follows: 

I. The department of justice will hereafter exercise no control over the courts, and 
the judiciary will be entirely independent. Judges, however, will be subject to 
impeachment, and subordinate court officers and employees will be liable to prose- 
cution for official misconduct as hereinafter provided. 

II. The department will hereafter be charged only with duties similar to those 
which pertain to the Department of Justice and the office of the Attorney-General in 
the United States and in the several States of the Union, such as rendering opinions 
on contracts to which the insular government is a party, investigate claims against 
the insular government, prosecuting officials of the insular government for malfea- 
sance hi office, investigating titles to public lands, interpretation of laws for the 
guidance of the executive departments, supervising prosecuting attorneys in the vari- 
ous insular courts, etc. 

III. The department of justice will be under the direction and control of a judicial 
board of five members, all of the legal profession, who are willing to serve without 
salary for such services. 

IV. The office of the department of justice will be under the immediate charge of 
a solicitor-general, who, under the direction of the board, will perform all the duties 
appropriately pertaining to the office, as indicated in Paragraph II. 

V. The office of the secretary of justice is hereby discontinued. The secretary of 
justice will turn over to the solicitor-general all the books, records, furniture, and 
other property pertaining to his office, together with a list of employees and the sala- 
ries of each. 

VI. Subject to the approval of the judicial board, the solicitor-general will employ 
the necessary clerical force for the proper performance of his duties, and will be 
responsible for the safe-keeping of all books, records, office furniture, and other prop- 
erty which may be intrusted to him. 

VII. The solicitor-general will render to the governor-general, through the judicial 
board, a quarterly return of all property pertaining to his office, together with a list 
of his employees and the salaries of each. 

VIII. Questions requiring investigation, legal opinions, or report from the depart- 
ment of justice will be transmitted to the solicitor-general through the judicial board, 
and returned through the same channel. 

IX. The solicitor-general will act as secretary of the judicial board of the depart- 
ment of justice. In case of his absence through sickness or other unavoidable cause, 
his chief clerk will so act. 

X. The judicial board will meet one day in each week in the office of the solicitor- 
general, and at such other times as they may deem necessary. Three members shall 
constitute a quorum. It will be their duty" to receive from the solicitor-general all 
reports, opinions, and recommendations which he mav submit, and transmit them 
with their remarks to the governor-general. They will also propose to the governor- 
general, from time to time, such reforms in the laws and in the procedure of the 
courts as they may deem wise. 

XL It will be the duty of the judicial board to present to the supreme court, 
through its fiscal, articles of impeachment against any judge of an insular court, 
except a justice of the supreme court, against whom they mav receive charges of 
corruptions or malfeasance in office, or of immoral or vicious habits unbecoming his 
station. 

XII. The fiscal of the supreme court shall prosecute all such cases of impeachment 
so presented, and shall be assisted in this duty by the solicitor-general. 

XIII. Where complaints are presented against a member of the supreme court, the 
judicial board shall submit the matter to the governor-general, who will name a 
special commission of five judges to try and determine the case. 

XIV. The solicitor-general shall prosecute impeachments against members of the 
supreme court. He shall also file informations and prosecute the same, or cause them 



122 REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 

to be prosecuted, before the proper tribunals in all cases of official misconduct on the 
part of other officers, secretaries, clerks, bailiffs, and other employees of the insular 
courts or of the insular administrative departments or members of the insular police. 

XV. It shall also be the duty of the judicial board to nominate to the governor- 
general suitable persons for appointment as judges and fiscals of all the courts when- 
ever vacancies occur. 

XVI. Any resident of the island can rile informations against any magistrate, judge, 
or judicial officer for misconduct in office or immoralities in private life unbecoming 
his station, subject to the usual penalties for false and malicious accusations. 

XVII. In case of conviction of any judge or other court officer or employee, the 
sentence shall include dismissal from office. 

_ XVIII. All judges and judicial officers are enjoined to abstain from active participa- 
tion in partisan politics. 

XIX. The following-named gentlemen, having consented to serve, are hereby 
announced as constituting the judicial board: Hon. D. Hilario Cuevillas Hernandez; 
Hon. N. B. K. Pettingill, judge United States provisional court; Maj. A. C. Sharpe, 
inspector-general, acting judge-advocate; Hon. Juan Hernandez Lopez, and Hon. 
Manuel F. Rossy. 

XX. Hon. Rafael Nieto Abeille is hereby appointed solicitor-general. 
The foregoing appointments will take effect this date. 

By command of Brigadier-General Davis: 

W. P. Hall, Adjutant-General. 



General Orders, \ Headquarters Department op Puerto Rico, 

• No. 99. I San Juan, July 15, 1899. 

Chaplain Henry A. Brown, U.S. A., is appointed inspector of the orphan asylum 
in this city and will report fully to these headquarters respecting the conduct of that 
institution. 

All complaints respecting bad food or treatment that may come to the attention of 
Chaplain Brown will be fully investigated, and abuses, if any exist, will be corrected. 
He is authorized to give the necessary orders in each case and see that they are carried 
out, making report of his action to these headquarters. 

By command of Brigadier-General Davis: 

W. P. Hall, Adjutant-General '. 



General Orders, \ Headquarters Department op Puerto Rico, 

No. 100. J San Juan, July 15, 1899. 

First Lieut. James J. Hornbrook, Fifth United States Cavalry, is appointed sec- 
retary and treasurer of the board of prison control, established by General Orders, 
No. 77, current series, these headquarters, and so much of Paragraph VII of that 
order as relates to the secretary of the board is revoked. Lieutenant Hornbrook will 
report to the president of the board. 

By command of Brigadier-General Davis : 

W. P. Hall, Adjutant- General. 



General Orders, \ Headquarters Department of Puerto Rico, 

No. 101. J San Juan, July 18, 1899. 

1. From and after this date the sale of fresh meat throughout the island by -the 
system known as subasta (or auction) is prohibited. Contracts now existing, if any, 
shall be limited to expire not later than July 31, 1899. Any person whose cattle can 
pass the inspection of the municipal authority appointed for such object shall (after 
paying the slaughterhouse dues fixed by the municipal authorities) be allowed to 
slaughter them at a place which the alcaldes shall designate for the purpose in his 
own municipality, and shall be permitted to freely expose said meat for sale in any 
building or market place in the municipality in which the cattle may be slaughtered 
which fulfills the requirements of public hygiene, without tax or license of any kind. 

2. Fvery meat market, butcher's stall, or other place in which meat is exposed 
for sale shall have posted therein in a conspicuous place a price list of the various 
classes of meat for sale. Sales of meat not named in this list or at prices different 
from those so stated are prohibited. But this does not apply to contracts with the 
Army or Navy. 



REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 123 

3. No municipality shall pass any measure excluding the introduction of live meat 
from any other municipal district. The suitability of cattle for slaughter shall be 
decided by the inspector of the slaughterhouse. 

4. Nothing in these rules is to be construed as preventing the introduction of refrig- 
erated native meat into any municipality, provided it is accompanied by a proper 
certificate from the health authorities of the municipality in which it is killed, which 
shall also state the hour at which the meat has been slaughtered and prepared for 
shipment. No restriction shall be imposed by any municipality upon the free sale 
of imported refrigerated meats, subject to the usual hygienic inspection. 

5. Appeal from the decision of the meat inspector in places where troops are on 
duty may be taken to the board of health. In places where no troops are on duty 
appeal may be taken to the alcalde. The decision of these officers shall be final. 

6. The alcalde of each municipality shall submit, for the approval of the com- 
manding general, a scale of slaughterhouse charges, such as may be absolutely neces- 
sary to cover expenses. 

7. A copy of this order in Spanish shall be posted in every alcaldia. Each munici- 
pality is afso authorized to enact any regulations beneficial to or needed for public 
hygiene, but they must be free of taxation in any shape. 

8. If, in the judgment of any municipal corporation, the system of "free slaughter" 
should, on account of special circumstances and existing local conditions, prove detri- 
mental to the public health and the interest of the community under its jurisdiction, 
a report to this effect, setting forth a clear and precise statement of the causes, will 
be submitted to the secretary of state within ten days after the promulgation of this 
order, together with an application soliciting special authority to apply the "contract 
system," if in their judgment such action is deemed necessary to insure justice and 
equity to all concerned. Requests of this nature will be accompanied with the nec- 
essary evidence in justification thereof, together with a proposed scale fixing the 
maximum prices of the several kinds of meats offered for sale. 

9. Whenever a municipal corporation has been authorized to resort to the ' 'con- 
tract system upon a fixed scale, ' ' the reasons therefor will be published for the infor- 
mation of the public concerned. This authority will only be granted upon the 
condition that when the bids for contracts exceed the rate fixed, the bids will be 
rejected and the municipality charge itself with the service of slaughter through 
administrative methods. The regulations in this respect shall only provide for the 
actual expenses incurred and for the time intended to be covered by contract had 
the bids not been rejected. 

10. It is the purpose of this order to secure the absolute freedom in the sale of 
meats, fish, and fowl, subject only to necessary hygienic regulations. Any person 
convicted of obstructing or interfering with the full operation of this order shall, for 
each such offense, be subject to a fine of 100 pesos. It is hereby made the duty of all 
boards of health, fiscals, judges of instruction, alcaldes, town councils, and munici- 
pal police officers to see that the spirit of this order is fully observed. 

By command of Brigadier-General Davis: 

W. P. Hall, Adjutant- General. 



General Orders, \ Headquarters Department of Puerto Rico, 

No. 102. J San Juan, July 18, 1899. 

For the information of all concerned the following orders are published relative to 
the duties of the superior board of health constituted for the island of Puerto Rico by 
General Orders, No. 91, current series, these headquarters. 

It shall be the duty of the superior board of health : 

I. To have general supervision of all the interests of the public health of the island, 
and to especially study its vital statistics. 

II. To make sanitary investigations and inquiries respecting the causes of disease, 
and especially of epidemic diseases, including those of domestic animals, the sources 
of mortality, and the effects of localities, employments, condition, habits, food, bev- 
erages, and medicine on the health of the people. 

III. To disseminate information upon these and similar subjects among the people. 

IV. To institute sanitary inspections of all public institutions or places throughout 
the island. 

V. To consider and report to the governor upon the plans and specifications for all 
new water supplies, drainage, sewerage plants, and public institutions of all kinds, or 
for alterations in such public works or institutions. Copies of such plans and speci- 
fications will be filed in the office of the board. 

VI. To suggest amendments to the sanitary laws of the island, and to have power 
to enforce such regulations as will tend to limit the progress of epidemic diseases. 



124 REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 

VII. To have power and authority to order nuisances, or the causes of any special 
diseases or mortality, to be abated and removed, and to enforce such interior quaran- 
tine regulations as said board shall direct, in cities, municipalities, districts, or places 
where there are no local boards of health, or in case the sanitary laws or regulations 
should be inoperative in places where boards of health or health officers exist, Any 
person who shall fail to obey or shall violate such order, shall upon conviction be 
sentenced to pay a fine of not more than $100, or be imprisoned for not more than 
sixty days, at the discretion of the court. 

VIII. To have general supervision of the insular system of registration of births, 
marriages, and deaths, and of prevalent diseases, and to insure the faithful recording 
of the same; also to prepare the necessary methods, forms, and blanks for obtaining 
and preserving such statistics. 

IX. To prepare regulations governing the admittance of persons to the practice of 
medicine and surgery, pharmacy, dentistry, midwifery, embalming, and undertaking, 
and to enforce such regulations as are adopted by the government of the island. 

X. To inquire into and report upon violations of laws governing the purity and 
wholesomeness of foods, drinks, drugs, and medicines. To submit through the" gov- 
ernor of the island regulations to control offensive and dangerous occupations, and to 
report upon and make recommendations regarding any special sources of danger to 
life or person. 

XL To require all health officers and health boards throughout the island to for- 
ward to the superior board copies of all their reports and publications and such other 
sanitary information as it may request. To require reports and information concern- 
ing such matters or particulars in respect to which it may in its opinion need infor- 
mation for the proper discharge of its duties, from all public dispensaries, hospitals, 
asylums, infirmaries, prisons, penitentiaries, schools, and from the managers, princi- 
pals and officers thereof, and from all other public institutions, their officers and man- 
agers, and from the proprietors, managers, lessees, and occupants of all places of pub- 
lic resort throughout the island. , 

XII. To from time to time engage suitable persons to render sanitary service, or to 
make or supervise practical and scientific investigations and examinations requiring 
expert skill, and to prepare plans and reports relating thereto. This regulation must 
not be considered as authorizing any expenditure beyond the sum specifically allot- 
ted to the board for such purposes in the annual budget. When the cost of such 
investigations exceeds the allotment, special authority for the expenditure must be 
obtained from the governor of the island. 

XIII. To make a written report to the governor on or before June 30 of each year, 
covering the general sanitary conditions of Puerto Rico, the work of the officers and 
agents of the board, and a detailed statement by the treasurer of all moneys received 
and disbursed during the year. To submit special reports from time to time as the 
occasion may demand. 

XIV. To especially supervise subjects directly relating to public health, as follows: 

(1) Public water supplies. 

(2) Markets, bakeries, groceries, and milk depots. 

(3) The purity and wholesomeness of all foods, drinks, liquors, drugs, and medi- 
cines. 

(4) Public institutions, schools, asylums, jails, hospitals, dispensaries, barracks, 
court rooms, theaters, etc, 

(5^ Tenement houses. 

(6) Vital statistics — marriages, births, deaths. 

(7) Licensing and registration of physicians and surgeons, dentists, pharmacists 
midwives, undertakers, etc. 

(8) Plumbing and registration of plumbers. 

(9) Sewering. 

(10) Street cleaning. 

(11) Privies, water-closets, cesspools, etc. 

(12) Nuisances. 

(13) Slaughterhouses, stables, yards. 

(14) Contagious and infectious diseases. 

(15) Trades, factories, and industries offensive or injurious to the public health. 

(16) Undertaking and cemeteries. 

(17) Disinfection. 

(18) Licenses and permits. 

(19) Vaccination and the production of vaccine virus. 

(20) Diseases of domestic animals communicable to man. 

(21) Interior quarantine. 

(22) Poisons, explosives, and special sources of danger to life and person. 

(23) Sanitary supervision of travel and traffic. 



REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 125 

XV. To institute prosecutions for violations of the provisions of this order in the 
nearest local court, or in the United States provisional court, as the governor may- 
direct. 

By command of Brigadier-General Davis: 

W. P. Hall, Adjutant-General. 



General Orders, \ ■ Headquarters Department op Puerto Rico, 

No. 103. I San Juan, July 20, 1899. 

I. For the purpose of facilitating preliminary inquiries into criminal charges made 
against persons who would be tried before the United States provisional court, under 
General Orders, No. '88, current series, these headquarters, it is hereby ordered that 
the commanding officers of the military posts within this department, shall act 
ex officio as United States provisional court commissioners, and that as such they 
shall have the power to administer oaths, issue warrants of arrests, and hold prelimi- 
nary hearings for the purposes hereinafter provided. 

II. Whenever any person shall apply to any post commander, or other court com- 
missioner, for a warrant of arrest and shall make oath in writing before him, setting 
forth the commission by any party of an offense which comes within the jurisdiction 
of the United States provisional court, under the terms of General Orders, No. 88, cur- 
rent series, these headquarters, it shall be the duty of such post commander, or other 
court commissioner, to take the oath of such person and forthwith to issue a warrant 
to arrest and bring the party so charged before him for a preliminary inquiry into 
the facts of the charge so made. Such inquiry shall be made at as early a day as the 
witnesses can be conveniently brought before such commissioner, and after an exami- 
nation of all the witnesses produced before him, said commissioner shall decide from 
the evidence whether there appears probable cause of the guilt of the defendant. If 
he finds such probable cause, the commissioner shall bind the defendant to appear 
for trial before said United States provisional court at its next term -to be held at the 
place most convenient to the place of hearing and fix such bail as in his judgment the 
case demands. If the commissioner finds no probable cause of the defendant's guilt, 
the defendant shall be discharged and the complaining witnesses shall be adjudged to 
pay all the costs which such defendant may prove he has incurred by such hearing. 

III. In case any commissioner shall adjudge costs against a complaining witness 
under the preceding section, such commissioner shall forthwith send to the clerk of 
the said United States provisional court a certificate setting forth that such a hearing 
has been had, and such adjudication made, and upon the recording of such certificate 
in the judgment docket, it shall have all the force and effect of a judgment of said 
United States provisional court. 

IV. The court commissioners aforesaid shall have the further authority to approve 
bonds of defendants bound over under the provisions of Paragraph II hereof: Pro- 
dded, That hi each case the bond must be signed by two good and sufficient sureties. 
In all cases where persons are bound over under the provisions of this order, the 
commissioner shall upon the conclusion of the procedings before him, transmit all 
papers in each case under seal to the prosecuting attorney of said United States pro- 
visional court. 

V. In case a defendant is bound over at a preliminary hearing and is unable to give 
bond, or the commissioner finds that the offense is not a bailable one, he shall forth- 
with send the prisoner, under proper guard, to be delivered into the custody of the 
marshal of the said United States provisional court. 

VI. Said court commissioner shall also keep a docket containing a memorandum of 
each preliminary hearing held before him, the number of witnesses examined on each 
side, the amount of bond required, if defendant was bound over, and the disposition 
made of the defendant. All commissioners will submit at the end of each quarter, to 
the clerk of said United States provisional court, a duly certified copy of this docket. 
Whenever a post commander, acting as commissioner, is transferred from his station, 
he will immediately submit to the said clerk of said United States provisional court a 
certified copy of his docket, covering the cases heard by him during the portion of the 
quarter in which his transfer takes place. 

VII. Post commanders will exercise great care in their inquiries to determine 
whether the cases brought before them fall clearly within the provisions of General 
Orders, No. 88, current series, these headquarters. In case any doubt should arise 
regarding the question of jurisdiction the commissioner will suspend the hearing and 
report the matter to the provisional court for instructions. 

VIII. All correspondence relating to the duties herein prescribed will be conducted 
directly between the provisional court and the commissioners. 

By command of Brigadier-General Davis : 

W. P. Hall, Adjutant-General. 



126 REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 

General Orders, \ Headquarters Department of Puerto Rico, 

No. 104. / San Juan, July 19, 1899. 

I. Under the provisions of paragraph 16, General Orders, No. 87, current series, 
these headquarters, Francisco Aeosta, chief clerk in the office of the solicitor-general, 
is designated as disbursing officer for the officers and employees of the solicitor-gen- 
eral's office and for the judges, court officers, secretaries, clerks, and officials of the 
insular courts in San Juan. He will furnish a bond in such an amount as may be 
determined by the judicial board for the faithful discharge of his duties. He will 
also prepare monthly separate memorandum estimates of funds for salaries and 
expenses of all the courts of the island and submit them through the solicitor-general 
to the judicial board for examination and approval. These the judicial board will 
forward with their approval to the auditor of the island. 

II. The payment of the salaries and expenses of the insular courts located outside 
of San Juan will be made by the collectors of internal revenue, who Avill forward 
their monthly estimates for funds to the secretary of finance before the 20th of each 
month. 

III. Hereafter when any insular court imposes confinement as a punishment for 
crime, it will at the same time designate the prison in which the confinement is to be 
executed. On the date on which the prisoner is sent to the prison so designated the 
court will transmit a transcript of the sentence to the warden of the designated prison, 
and a duplicate copy of the same to the secretary of the prison board at San Juan. 

The practice of sending these reports to the department of justice will be dis- 
continued. 

By command of Brigadier-General Davis: 

W. P. Hall, Adjutant-General . 



General Orders, \ Headquarters Department op Puerto Rico, 

No. 105. J San Juan, July 19, 1899. 

Upon the recommendation of the judicial board the operation of General Orders, 
No. 95, current series, these headquarters, is temporarily suspended. 
By command of Brigadier-General Davis: 

W. P. Hall, Adjutant- General. 



General Orders, \ Headquarters Department of Puerto Rico, 

No. 106. j San Juan, July SI, 1899. 

Paragraph 4 of General Orders, No. 87, of June 26, 1899, is hereby amended so that 
it shall read as follows: 

' ' 4. The treasurer will issue receipts in duplicate for moneys paid to him, which 
receipts must be countersigned by the auditor of Puerto Rico, in order to make them 
valid vouchers. After such receipts have been countersigned by the auditor, the 
originals will be retained in his office and the duplicates will be delivered or trans- 
mitted by him to the officers or agents by whom the payments were made. Such 
duplicate receipts will constitute the official vouchers upon which the officers or agents 
making the payments will receive credit in the settlement of their monthly revenue 
accounts by the auditor, and must be transmitted with such accounts when rendered. 
Acting postmasters will, at the beginning of each month, make remittances to the 
director-general of posts at San Juan of all postal revenues and money-order fees 
received by them respectively during the preceding month. The director-general of 
posts will receipt in duplicate for such remittances, forwarding one receipt to the 
party making the remittance and the other to the auditor of Puerto Rico, and he 
will deposit such remittances, in the names of the respective persons making the same, 
with the treasurer of Puerto Rico, who will issue his receipts in duplicate therefor." 

By command of Brigadier-General Davis: 

W. P. Hall, Adjutant-General . 



General Orders, \ Headquarters Department of Puerto Rico, 

No. 108. i San Juan, July 28, 1899. 

The degree of bachelor in the educational system of Puerto Rico will be no longer 
issued. In lieu thereof there will be furnished by the insular board of education 
and signed by the president thereof, a certificate, containing a statement of the sub- 
jects that have been completed by students to whom the degree of bachelor was for- 



REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 127 

inerly conferred. For this certificate there will be no charge, and it will have all the 
force that belonged to the degree formerly given. 
By command of Brigadier-General Davis: 

W. P. Hall, Adjutant-General . 



General Orders, \ Headquarters Department op Puerto Rico, 

No. 109. I San Juan, July 31, 1899. 

The United States provisional court, instituted by General Orders, No. 88, current 
series, these headquarters, having been vested with jurisdiction over cases arising in 
Puerto Rico under United States statutes, the following section of these statutes will 
apply to this military department (in addition to the existing local law, articles 150 
and 249, Penal Code) and are published for the information and guidance of all con- 
cerned : 

* ****** 

' ' Sec. 5336. If two or more persons (in any State or Territory) conspire to over- 
throw, put down, or to destroy by force the Government of the United States, or to 
levy war against them, or to oppose by force the authority thereof, or by force to 
prevent, hinder, or delay the execution' of any law of the United States, or by force 
to take, seize, or possess any property of the United States contrary to the authority 
thereof, each of them shall be punished by a fine of not less than five hundred dol- 
lars and not more than five thousand dollars, or by imprisonment, with or without 
hard labor, for a period not less than six months nor more than six years, or by 
both such fine and imprisonment." 

******* 
"Sec. 5283. Every person who, within the limits of the United States, fits out and 
arms, or attempts to fit out and arm, or procures to be fitted out and armed, or know- 
ingly is concerned in the furnishing, fitting out, or arming, of any vessel with intent 
that such vessel shall be employed in the service of any foreign prince or state, or of 
any colony, district, or people, to cruise or commit hostilities against the subjects, 
citizens, or property of any foreign prince or state, or of any colony, district, or peo- 
ple with whom the United States are at peace, or issues or delivers a commission 
within the territory or jurisdiction of the United States, for any vessel, to the intent 
that she may be so employed, shall be deemed guilty of a high misdemeanor, and 
shall be fined not more than ten thousand dollars, and imprisoned not more than 
three years. And every such vessel, her tackle, apparel, and furniture, together with 
all materials, arms, ammunition, and stores, which may have been procured for the 
building and equipment thereof, shall be forfeited, one-half to the use of the informer 
and the other half to the use of the United States." 

******* 
The following are authoritative opinions relating to the foregoing statutes: 
"It is also a well-established principle of American law that if a publication be 
calculated to alienate the affection of the people by bringing the Government into 
disesteem, whether the expedient resorted to be ridicule or obloquy, the writer and 
publisher are' punishable; and whether the defendant really intended by his publica- 
tion to alienate the affection of the people from the Government or not, is immaterial; 
if the publication be calculated to have that effect it is seditious. 

"Depredations by our citizens upon nations at peace with the United States, or 
combinations for committing them, have at all times been regarded by the American 
Government and people with the greatest abhorrence. Military incursions by our citi- 
zens into countries so situated, and the commission of acts of violence on the mem- 
bers thereof, in order to effect a change in its government, or under any pretext what- 
ever, have from the commencement of our Government been held equally criminal 
on the part of those engaged in them, and so much deserving punishment as would 
be the disturbance of the public peace by the perpetration of similar acts within our 
own territory. 

"No individuals have a right to hazard the peace of the countrvor to violate its 
laws upon vague notions of altering or reforming governments in other States." 
By command of Brigadier-General Davis: 

W. P. Hall, Adjutant- General. 



128 REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 

General Orders, \ Headquarters Department op Puerto Rico, 

No. 110. J San Juan, August 2, 1899. 

Municipal councils are hereby authorized to appoint and dismiss municipal police- 
men for their respective localities. The exclusive authority heretofore exercised by 
the mayors for this purpose is hereby revoked. Councils will exercise great care in 
selecting only such persons for appointment to the police force as are of good moral 
character and intelligence and are physically qualified for the performance of this 
important duty. They are also charged with the enforcement of the rules for the 
government of the police force of their respective municipalities. 

By command of Brigadier-General Davis: 

W. P. Hall, Adjutant-General. 



General Orders, \ Headquarters Department op Puerto Rico, 

No. 111. J San Juan, August S, 1899. 

I. Civil employees connected with the insular government who are charged with 
the disbursement of funds will be required to furnish bonds of fidelity, forms of which 
will be furnished by the auditor of Puerto Rico. 

II. Chiefs of departments, bureaus, offices, and administrative boards will see that 
all employees referred to in the preceding paragraph are required to furnish bonds 
as herein directed. 

The bonds may be — 

In money of the United States, deposited with the treasurer of Puerto Rico, a 
written instrument accompanying the same to show the character and purpose of the 
deposit. 

In the form of a paper signed by the disbursing employee and two sureties, each 
of the latter to be held jointly and severally responsible for the whole amount of the 
bond, and each to make affidavit that he is worth double the amount of the sum 
stated in the bond over and above all his debts and liabilities. The sureties on the 
bond must be residents of the island of Puerto Rico. Those not owning unencum- 
bered property in Puerto Rico of double the value of the bond named will not be 
accepted as bondsmen. A description of said property must be given. 

The bond may also be given by a surety company doing business in Puerto Rico, 
whose character for responsibility is approved by the governor-general. The responsi- 
ble representative of the surety company and the principal or disbursing officer must 
both sign the bond. 

III. Every bond of fidelity that may be tendered must be approved by the treas- 
urer of Puerto Rico and made payable to or collectible by the treasurer of the 
military government of Puerto Rico. 

IV. Civil employees now in office who are not under bond must furnish the same 
with the least possible delay. Those who may be hereafter appointed must qualify 
by filing their bonds before entering upon their respective duties. The certificate of 
the auditor to the fact of the filing and the sufficiency of the bond will evidence those 
facts. 

V. Bonds of fidelity will be sent to the treasurer of the island through the office 
of the auditor of Puerto Rico. No bonds will be required of commissioned officers of 
the Army or Navy who are engaged in disbursing duties. 

VI. The bonds required of civil disbursing officers will be determined and fixed 
by the auditor of the island, who is authorized to correspond directly with the heads 
of offices and their disbursing officers in respect to bonding. 

By command of Brigadier-General Davis: 

W. P. Hall, Adjutant- General. 



General Orders, \ Headquarters Department op Puerto Rico, 

No. 112. / San Juan, August 7, 1899. 

Information having been received at these headquarters regarding the official action 
of the various boards of supervisors at the election for municipal officers held at 
Adjuntas on the 25th of July last, a careful investigation has been made by the com- 
manding general of all the facts connected with this matter. 

1. It appears that during the noon hour on the day of election the various boards 
of supervisors adjourned for breakfast, suspending the election for a certain period of 
time, removing the ballot boxes from public view and carrying them to private 
nouses or hotels where the supeiwisors were taking breakfast. 

It further appears that the ballot boxes during this interval of time were kept con- 
stantly in the possession of and under the eye of the supervisors, and there is no 
evidence that they were tampered or interfered with in any way. 



EEPOET OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 129 

The commanding general is. satisfied that no corrupt practices were resorted to in 
this matter, and that the election was fairly conducted and is a just expression of 
the choice of the people of Ad juntas; but inasmuch as the ballot boxes were 
removed from the polling places, and thus withdrawn for a time from public view, 
it may be regarded technically as a vitiation of the election, and in order that every 
appearance of illegality may be removed another vote is hereby ordered to be taken 
at Adjuntas for this purpose on the 22d day of August, 1899. 

2. A new board of registration of five members will be organized by the command- 
ing officer at Adjuntas, consisting of one army officer as president, and two mem- 
bers of each of the political parties. Each civilian member of this board before 
entering upon his duties will take oath before the municipal judge (for which oath 
there will be no charge or fee) for the faithful discharge of his duties. After this 
board is thus duly qualified, the commanding officer at Adjuntas will turn over to it 
the official list of Alters which was prepared by the former board of registration, 
which shall be regarded as the official list of voters. The board will post copies of 
this list for three days prior to the day of election at the post-office, the alcalde's office, 
and such other public places as it may deem advisable. 

3. It having been alleged that certain persons not bona fide residents of Adjuntas, 
and therefore not qualified to vote at that place, were included in this list of voters, 
the new board of registration will convene and remain in session three days after the 
public posting of the lists for the purpose of receiving challenges or objections to 
any of the voters named in said list. The place, dates, and hours of meeting of said 
board shall be publicly announced by the commanding officer by posters at the post- 
office, the alcalde's office, and in such other manner as he may deem proper. 

4. The qualifications of a voter are that he must be a bona fide male resident of 
of the municipality; he must be over 21 years of age, a taxpayer of record at the 
date of this order, or must be able to read and write; he must have resided upon the 
island of Puerto Rico for two years next preceding the election and for the last six 
months of that time within the municipality of Adjuntas. 

5. In determining the ability of voters to read and write any standard book or 
newspaper may be used by the board of registration, the voter being required to 
write one or more phrases from dictation. 

6. No challenges will be received at the polls except as to the identity of voters 
with the persons whom they represent themselves to be, named in the official list. 

7. Upon the revision and completion of the polling lists the board of registration 
will certify to the correctness of the lists, each member signing the certificate, and 
will then turn the lists over to the proper boards of supervisors. 

8. Boards of supervisors to superintend the balloting, and each to consist of one 
army officer as president and one member each of the opposing political parties, will 
be appointed by the commanding officer at Adjuntas. Each civilian member of these 
boards shall take oath as prescribed in paragraph 2. of this order for the faithful dis- 
charge of his duties. 

9. Should there be any doubt in the mind of any member of the board of super- 
visors as to the identity of a voter with the person whom he represents himself to be, 
proof will be required to establish his identity to the satisfaction of the board. 

10. Any person who fraudulently votes, or attempts or offers to fraudulently vote, 
shall, upon conviction thereof, be subjected to a fine of $100, or imprisonment at hard 
labor for three months, or both such fine and imprisonment at the discretion of the 
court. 

11. It shall be the duty of each member of the boards of supervisors having knowl- 
edge of fraudulent voting or of attempt to fraudulently vote to file information in the 
proper court against the person so offending. Upon receipt of such information the 
court will institute the proper proceedings without delay. 

12. For the purpose of establishing the identity of voters whose identity is chal- 
lenged the president of the board of supervisors in each polling place is empowered 
to administer oaths to the challenged party and to the witnesses whom he may pro- 
duce to establish his identity. False swearing under this article shall be subject to 
the same pains and penalties as perjury. 

13. The Australian ballot will be used. The necessary ballots will be prepared by 
the commanding officer at Adjuntas, being identical in every detail with those that 
were used at the election of July 25 last. 

In voting for councilmen each elector will be permitted to vote for not more than 
eight candidates of one party, so as to permit the defeated party to have a minority 
representation of four members in the council. 

Voters are cautioned to put no writing or marks on the ballot except a character- 
istic mark, thus X, or thus 4-, in the margin opposite the name of the person for 
whom they desire to vote. Ballots otherwise marked will be rejected. 

12558 -9 



130 EEPOET OF BEIGADIEE-GENEEAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 

In case of a tie vote between councilmen of the same party, that one will be declared 
elected whose name appears nearest the head of the list on the ballot. 

In case of a tie vote between councilmen of different parties, those will be declared 
elected whose party elects the alcalde. 

14. From the hour that the polls open until they close the ballot boxes shall 
remain publicly exposed in the custody of the proper boards of supervisors. 

15. Ballot boxes must not be removed from the polling places until the polls are 
closed. 

16. No polling places shall be located outside the limits of the town of Adjuntas. 

17. All polling places and the hours for balloting will be publicly announced by 
the commanding officer at Adjuntas, by written or printed posters displayed at the 
post-office, and at the alcalde's office; also in such other manner as he may deem 
proper, at least three days before the day of election. This order will in like manner 
be published for three days. 

18. Every precaution will be taken to see that every person who is entitled to vote 
has opportunity to do so. The necessary precautions will be taken by the command- 
ing officer at Adjuntas to avoid disturbances at the polls and to keep the way to the 
ballot boxes unobstructed. 

19. Immediately after the polls are closed the various boards of supervisors will 
begin the counting of the ballots which have been deposited in the ballot boxes 
under their particular charge. The ballots will be carefully preserved. A certificate 
of the count and result of the votes will be signed by the three members of the 
board, and shall state that the vote was conducted fairly and honestly, or shall state 
such irregularities, if any, as may have occurred. All the ballots, together with the 
certificate of the board, will, in the presence of the board, be inclosed in one pack- 
age, carefully sealed, and delivered by the board immediately to the commanding 
officer at Adjuntas. These packages, with seal unbroken, will be brought by the 
commanding officer at Adjuntas to these headquarters by the first available trans- 
portation. 

20. In determining any question that may come before any of the boards a major 
ity vote of the members of the boards will decide. 

By command of Brigadier-General Davis: 

W. P. Hall, Adjutant- General. 



General Orders, \ Headquarters Department of Puerto Rico, 

No. 113. | . San Juan, August 7, 1899. 

Upon recommendation of the board of education, it is hereby ordered that the 
funds appropriated by the insular government for the support of the public schools 
shall be apportioned as follows : 

1. On or before the 20th of each month the disbursing officer of the insular board 
of education shall deposit with the government's bankers in San Juan the money 
appropriated for the public schools for that month, to the credit of the treasurers of 
the different municipalities, pro rata, according to the share of the annual appro- 
priation that each municipality respectively receives. Each municipal treasurer 
shall give vouchers in triplicate for the sum so received to the disbursing officer of 
the insular board of education. 

2. The money so deposited shall be expended each month by the treasurers of the 
municipalities exclusively for the payment of the salaries of legally qualified teachers 
serving in the public schools of each municipality under legal contract, approved by 
the insular board of education. The municipal treasurer shall receive for all pay- 
ments so made vouchers approved by the president and the secretary of the local 
board of education, and signed in duplicate by the teachers. One copy of said 
vouchers shall be filed with the disbursing officer of the insular board of education 
before the appropriation for the subsequent month is received. 

3. When the number of schools in any municipality is increased by the organiza- 
tion of new districts or otherwise, the municipal treasurer shall divide the money 
received from the insular government among all the teachers serving in this munici- 
pality, pro rata, in proportion to the full salary received by each teacher according 
to the grade of his school. The additional amount necessary to complete the salary 
prescribed by the school laws shall be paid by the municipality, or, in case of 
organized districts, by the district board of trustees. 

4. Organized districts shall not be taxed twice for school purposes. Where dis- 
tricts are organized, such districts shall determine in their local meeting or election 
the amount of taxes which they will levy for the support of their schools, and they 
shall be relieved of all contribution to the municipal treasury for school purposes. 



REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 131 

5. The municipal treasurer of each municipality shall give bond to the disbursing 
officer of the board of education, satisfactory to the auditor of the island, for twice 
the amount of the monthly appropriation from the insular treasury that will come 
into his hands, and he and his bondsmen shall be responsible for any money 
expended contrary to the provisions of this act. 

By command of Brigadier-General Davis: 

W. P. Hall, Adjutant- General. 



General Orders, \ Headquarters Department op Puerto Eico, 

No. 114. J San Juan, August 7, 1899. 

I. Upon the recommendation of the judicial board the judicial system of Puerto Rico 
is reorganized as follows, to take effect August 10, 1899, on and after which date the 
present system will cease to exist, according to instructions which will be published 
later: 

1. The supreme court of Puerto Rico, with residence fixed in San Juan, will here- 
after consist of one chief justice and four associate justices, who will constitute a 
judicial bench for all civil and criminal business. A prosecuting attorney shall also 

.be attached thereto who shall represent the State on all proper occasions. 

The supreme court shall have one secretary, two court clerks, one file clerk and 
taxer of costs, six clerks, one janitor, and two bailiffs. 

2. The island is divided into five judicial districts, whose respective capital cities 
are San Juan, Ponce, Mayaguez, Arecibo, and Humacao. 

3. The judicial district of San Juan will comprise the following municipalities: 
San Juan, Vega Baja, Vega Alta, Corozal, Naranjito, Toa Alta, Toa Baja, Dorado, 
Bayamon, Rio Pieclras, Trujillo Alto, Carolina, Rio Grande, Loiza, Caguas, Aguas 
Buenas, Comerio, Cayey, and Cidra. 

4. The judicial district of Police will comprise the following municipalities: Ponce, 
Juana Diaz, Coamo, Barros, Adjuntas, Pefiuelas, Salinas, Guayanilla, Yauco, Gua- 
yama, Santa Isabel, Aibonito, Barranquitas, and Arroyo. 

5. The judicial district of Mayaguez will comprise the following municipalities: 
Mayaguez, Ailasco, Rincon, Aguada, Aguadilla, Moca, Isabela, San Sebastian, Las 
Marias, Maricao, San German, Sabana Grande, Lajas, and Cabo Rojo. 

6. The judicial district of Arecibo will comprise the following municipalities: Are- 
cibo, Manati, Morovis, Ciales, Barceloneta, Utuado, Hatillo, Camuy, Quebradillas, 
and Lares. • 

7. The judicial district of Humacao will comprise the following municipalities: 
Humacao, Piedras, Naguabo, Fajardo," Yabucoa, Maunabo, Juncos, Gurabo, San Lo- 
renzo, Patillas, and Vieques. 

II. Upon the recommendation of the judicial board the following appointments 
are announced, to take effect August 10, 1899: 

To be chief justice of the supreme court: Mr. Jose Severo Quifiones. 

To be associate justices of the supreme court: Mr. Jose" Conrado Hernandez, Mr. 
Jose Maria Figueras, Mr. Rafael Nieto Abeille, Mr. Juan Morera Martinez. 

To be prosecuting attorney of the supreme court: Mr. Rafael Romero Aguayo. 

To be secretary of the supreme court: Mr. Eugenio Lopez Gaztambide. 

To be judges of the district court of San Juan: Mr. Juan Ramon Ramos Velez, Mr. 
Angel Acosta Quintero, Mr. Felipe Cuchf Arnau. 

To be judges of the district court of Ponce: Mr. Jose Ramon Becerra Garate, Mr. 
Isidoro Soto Nusa, Mr. Ramon Quifiones. 

To be judges of the district court of Mayaguez: Mr. Juan J. Perea Baster, Mr. 
Felipe Casaluc Goicoechea, Mr. Enrique Lloreda Casabo. 

To be judges of the district court of Arecibo: Mr. Julio M. Padilla, Mr. Salvador 
Fulladosa Mir, Mr. Horacio Nieto Abeille\ 

To be judges of the district court of Humacao: Mr. Juan F. Vias Ochoteco, Mr. 
Ricardo La Costa Izquierdo, Mr. Pedro Aldrey Montoliu. 

To be prosecuting attorney of the district court of San Juan: Mr. Eduardo Acuna 
Aybar. 

To be prosecuting attorney of the district court of Ponce: Mr. Rafael Sanchez 
Montalvo. 

To be prosecuting attorney of the district court of Mayaguez: Mr. Jose de Diego 
Martinez. 

To be prosecuting attorney of the district court of Arecibo: Mr. Jesus M. Rossy 
Calderon. 

To be prosecuting attorney of the district court of Humacao: Mr. Emilio Toro 
Cuevas. 



132 



REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 



To be secretary of the district court of San Juan: Mr. Ramon Falcon Elias. 

To be secretary of the district court of Ponce: Mr. Jose Tous Soto. 

To be secretary of the district court of Mayaguez: Mr. Jose Rosado Ay bar. 

To be secretary of. the district court of Arecibo: Mr. Antonio Moreno Calderon. 

To be secretary of the district court of Humacao: Mr. Jose Ramon Aponte. 

III. The judicial board will give the necessary direction for establishing the new 
system, for installing the court officials, and appointing the proper employees in their 
respective offices on the 10th day of August, 1899. 

By command of Brigadier-General Davis: 

W. P. Hall, Adjutant- General. 



General Orders, "1 Headquarters Department op Puerto Rico, 

No. 115. J San Juan, August 11, 1899. 

For the purpose of ascertaining the exact conditions resulting from the recent hur- 
ricane obtaining in the various municipal districts, the island is divided into twelve 
inspection divisions corresponding to the twelve military posts, each embracing the 
following-named municipalities : 









I. San Juan. 






1. 

2. 
3! 


Bayamon. 
Trujillo Alto. 
Loiza. 


4. 

5. 
6. 


Luquillo. 
Rio Piedras. 
Carolina. 

II. Humacao. 


7. 
8. 


Rio Grande. 
Fajardo. 


1. 

2. 

3. 


Patillas. 

Naguabo. 

Juncos. 


4. 
5. 
6. 


Maunabo. 

Ceiba. 

Piedras. 

III. Cayey. 


7. 
8. 


Yabucoa. 
Arroyo. 


1. 

2. 


Salinas. 
San Lorenzo. 


3. 

4. 


Caguas. 
Guayama. 

IV. AlBONITO. 


5. 


Gurabo. 


1. 


Sabana del Palmar. 


2. 


Aguas Buenas, 
V. Ponce. 


3. 


Cidra. 


1. 

2. 


Juana Diaz. 
Coamo. 


3. 

4. 


Barros. 
Barranquitas. 

VI. San German. 


5. 


Santa Isabel. 


1. 


Cabo Rojo. 


2. 


Sabana Grande. 
VII. Mayaguez. 


3. 


Lajas. 


1. 

2. 


Maricao. 
Hormigueros. 


3. 


Aflasco. 
VIII. Aguadilla. 


4. 


Las Marias. 


1. 
2. 


Isabela. 
Moca. 


3. 

4. 


Rincon. 

San Sebastian. 

IX. Arecibo. 


5. 


Aguada. 


1. 

2. 


Hatillo. 
Quebradillas. 


3. 


Camuy. 

X. Manati. 


4. 


Barceloneta 


1. 
2. 

3. 


Vega Baja. 
Toa Baja. 
Dorado. 


4. 
5. 
6. 


Corozal. 
Ciales. 
Vega Alta. 


7. 
8. 
9. 


Toa Alta. 
Xaranjito. 
Morovis. 



REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 133 

XI. Lakes. 
1. Utuado. 
XII. Adjuntas. 
1. Yauco. 2. Pefluelas. 3. Guayanilla. 

Post commanders are appointed inspectors of the respective divisions, and will at 
once send out an officer, noncommissioned officer, or intelligent private into each 
municipality to ascertain the extent of damage to houses and crops, the number of 
injured and sick and the number of destitute, the probable amount of food in the 
district, and the points which demand immediate attention. These reports will be 
sent to these headquarters at the earliest practicable moment. It will also be the 
duty of the inspectors to supervise the distribution of such funds and material as 
may be sent for distribution to the poor by the board of charities o? other sources. 

By command of Brigadier-General Davis : 

W. P. Hall, Adjutant- General. 

General Orders, \ Headquarters Department of Puerto Rico, 

No. 116. j San Juan, August 12, 1899. 

I. In order to still further simplify administration and reduce expenses, it is hereby 
ordered that the departments of state, treasury, and interior be discontinued, and 
the officers, secretary of state, secretary of the treasury, and secretary of the interior, 
be also discontinued. The officers and other employees in the departments named, 
together with their records, furniture, and other property, will be disposed of as 
hereinafter- indicated. 

II. A bureau of state and municipal affairs is hereby created, its officials, employees, 
and office furniture to be taken from the office of the depai'tment of state. The head 
officer will be styled "chief of bureau," with a salary of $2,000 per annum. To this 
bureau are assigned duties respecting — 

(«) Correspondence connected with diplomatic and consular affairs. 

lb) Municipal affairs and elections. 

lc) Patents, trade-marks, and labels. 

Id) Permits for carrying firearms. 

(e) Concessions, franchises, and privileges. 

III. A bureau of internal revenue is hereby created, its officials, employees, and 
office furniture to be taken from the department of finance. The head officer will be 
styled "chief of bureau," with a salary of $2,000 per annum. To this bureau are 
assigned duties respecting — 

(a) Internal-revenue assessments and collections. 

(b) Industries and commerce. 
lc) Weights and measures. 

Id) Banks, banking, and currency. 
(e) Public lands and forests. 

Such of the records of the department of the interior as pertain to industries and 
commerce will be transferred to the bureau of internal revenue. 

IV. A bureau of agriculture is established. Its head officer will be styled ' ' chief 
of bureau," and his salary is fixed at $2,000 per annum. The bureau of agriculture 
is charged with duties pertaining to — 

(a) Collection of facts and statistics respecting the cultivation of the soil and dis- 
posal of its products. 

(6) Model farming establishments for experiment with and test of the value of new 
shrubs, plants, fruits, grains, and domestic animals. 

(c) Mines and mining. 

Such of the records of the department of the interior as pertain to the bureau of 
agriculture will be transferred to that bureau. 

V. The office of civil secretary to the military governor is hereby created, with a 
salary of $4,000 per annum. The bureaus of state affairs, internal revenue, and agri- 
culture are placed under the official supervision and direction of the civil secretary. 
He will proceed to reorganize the bureaus named, retaining the most efficient em- 
ployees and discharging those whose services are no longer required. The records of 
the department of state and department of finance will be transferred to the control 
of the civil secretary. 

VI. The bureau of education with its present organization will be continued under 
the board of education, the president of the board reporting direct to the military 
governor. Such of the records of the department of the interior as pertain to schools 
and education will be turned over to the board of education. 



134 REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 

VII. The bureau of public works will hereafter be under the control of a board of 
public works consisting of the persons hereinafter named. To this bureau will be 
turned over such of the records of the department of the interior as pertain to the 
bureau of public works, to which are assigned duties respecting — 

(a) Construction, repair, and maintenance of the highways and bridges heretofore 
styled "military roads." 

(b) Construction, repair, and maintenance of country roads and bridges. 

(c) Construction, repair, and maintenance of public buildings used for civil purposes. 
Id) Improvement and maintenance of harbors and establishment of harbor lines. 
(e) Supervision of construction of wharves, docks, and slips. 

(/) Construction, repair, and maintenance of light-houses and beacons. 

VIII. The branch of the public service heretofore designated as harbor works will 
be discontinued as a separate establishment, and its duties and functions will be 
transferred to the bureau of public works, to' which the records, machines, tools, 
dredging apparatus, and other property will be transferred. The employees of the 
harbor works will be transferred to the bureau of public works, and all whose 
services can be dispensed with will be discharged. The president of the board will 
recommend to the military governor the number, classification, and rates of pay of 
the old employees of the harbor works proposed to be retained. 

IX. All matters respecting charitable institutions, including homes and asylums 
for succor of the poor, sick or incurables who are supported by insular expenditures, 
together with matters relating to assistance for the sufferers by the recent hurricane, 
are committed to a board of charities. 

Detail for the board. — Maj. John Van R. Hoff, chief surgeon, president; Surg. 
F. W. F.' Wieber, IT. S. N.; Dr. Francisco del ValleAtiles; Capt. G. M. Wells, assist- 
ant surgeon, U. S. A. ; Capt. F. P. Reynolds, assistant surgeon, U. S. A. ; Rev. J. de J. 
Nin, Catholic priest; Rev. Henry A. Brown, chaplain, U. S. A. ; Harold W. Cowper, 
acting assistant surgeon, U. S. A., secretary and disbursing officer. 

To this board will be transferred the executive and administrative control of the 
insane asylum, the orphan asylum, and the leper colony. The board will report 
direct to the military governor. The funds available for expenditure for the branches 
of the public service above indicated are those carried by the budget for the current 
year, and will be disbursed and accounted for by the disbursing officer, under the 
direction of the board of charities. 

X. The other branches of the public service not heretofore mentioned in this order 
are as follows, all reporting directly to the military governor: 

(a) The treasury. 

lb) The auditor. 

(c) The judicial boards. 

Id) The board of prison control. 

(e) The insular police. 

(/) The postal service. 

(g) The telegraph service. 

Ui) The quarantine service of ports. 

m The superior board of health. 

Ik) The inspector of lights and buoys. 

(I) The United States provisional court. 

XL The discontinuance of the departments of state, finance, and the interior, and 
the organization of the bureaus of state affairs, agriculture, and internal revenue will 
take place on the 15th instant, on which date the appointment of the civil secretary 
will take effect. 

The amalgamation of the harbor works with the public works bureau will take 
place on the 15th instant. 

XII. The following appointments in the civil branch of the military government 
are hereby announced: 

As civil secretary, Dr. Cayetano Coll y Toste. 

As chief of bureau state affairs, Mr. Manuel Camunas. 

As chief of internal-revenue bureau, Dr. Calixto Romero. 

As chief of bureau of agriculture, Mr. Juan Bautista Rodriguez, C. E., to succeed 
Mr. Juan Castro, who may be retained in a suitable capacity. 

As board of public works, Capt. William V. Judson, United States Corps of Engi- 
neers, president; Mr. F. L. Hills, civil engineer; Mr. JuanB. Rodriguez, civil engineer. 

As inspector of lights and beacons and in charge of buoys, Ensign W. R. Gherardi, 
U. S. N. 

In making selections for appointments as above there may seem to one of the 
political parties a preponderance of numbers of officers of another political party. 

The military governor announces that his selections for office are, in every case of 



REPORT OE BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 135 

reappointment, based upon the result of his experience and observation, or the 
manner in which the gentlemen named have in the past performed the duties per- 
taining to other public places they have held. He has in no case been actuated by 
a thought of promoting the ambitions of any party, and should it be found that any 
public officer uses his position, or attempts to use it, in promoting any personal or 
partisan purpose, he will be immediately removed. The military government will 
be administered for the benefit of all alike, without respect to party, race, or color, 
and if abuses are brought to the knowledge of the commanding general, he will 
immediately take measures to correct them. 

A board of insular policy of nine members, composed of representatives of all par- 
ties and business interests, will be appointed in a few days. To this board will be 
referred all important questions affecting public interests concerning which he feels 
that he needs advice. 

This board will be requested to have an oversight on the manner in which heads 
of bureaus and officers conduct their business and perform their duties, and the mil- 
itary governor will be glad to have brought to his attention by anyone any error of 
omission or commission by any public officer. 

Because an officer is a republican or a liberal it does not follow that he is incapa- 
ble of rendering valuable public services, valuable to all inhabitants, whatever their 
party. Casualties and removals will probably occur, and in filling such places a 
balance of power between the parties and the nonpartisan will be secured. 

By command of Brigadier-General Davis: 

W. P. Hall, Adjutant-General. 



General Orders, \ Headquarters Department of Puerto Rico, 

No. 117. j San Juan, August 14, 1899. 

I. The board of charities of Puerto Rico at San Juan is charged with the super- 
vision of the distribution of food to the needy. It will make timely requisition on 
these headquarters for the necessary material, which will be distributed to the depots 
and transported by the quartermaster's department, and it will see that all requisi- 
tions by the division inspectors are promptly filled. 

The division inspectors and local boards of charity will report at least once each 
week to the board of charities at San Juan, the former giving the number of rations 
issued, the latter the number requested and likely to be required, together with such 
other information as may be useful in the work of the board. 

II. All military departments, and officers on duty in Puerto Rico, will give the 
board of charities of San Juan such assistance as it may call upon them for in the 
prosecution of the relief work. 

III. The board of charities of San Juan is required to make requisition upon these 
headquarters for such funds as may be necessary, for which, and other material, it 
will account as required by orders and regulations. 

IV. The board of charities of San Juan is authorized to employ such personnel 
and purchase such material as may be necessary in the carrying out of its relief 
work. 

V. Numbered ration cards will be issued by the municipal boards of charity, and 
signed by the chairman, to the needy of his district, giving date, name, and number 
of adults and children in the family. On this card is a certificate stating that the 
individual named on the card is indigent and will require food for a stated number 
of adults and children for a specified time, which must be signed by the chairman. 

The card is intended for four issues, covering a period of four weeks, after Avhich 
it will be taken up at the subdepot and if necessary a new card will be issued by the 
municipal board of charities. 

These cards will be furnished by the board of charities for Puerto Rico at San Juan. 

VI. Any irregularities or misappropriation of relief material will be immediately 
reported to the board of charities, San Juan, by anyone cognizant of such. 

VII. A depot of supplies will be established at San Juan and at each military 
post, and a subdepot in the chief town of each municipal district, the post depot 
draAving supplies from San Juan and the subdepot from the post in its inspection 
division. 

VIII. Requisitions 1 will at once be forwarded to these headquarters by the com- 
manding officer of each post covering the requirements of his division for one month, 
on the basis of 6.857 ounces of beans, 6.875 ounces of rice, and 2.285 ounces dried 

1 The ration for one person for one week is 3 pounds each of rice and beans and 1 
pound of dried codfish or bacon. 



136 REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 

codfish or bacon for each daily ration. He will receipt for and be responsible for 
the material invoiced to him. 

IX. Food will be distributed in bulk from the post to each of its subdepots, which 
subdepots will be in charge of a noncommissioned officer, with two or more privates, 
who will receive, receipt, and be responsible for and issue the material invoiced him 
from the depot. 

X. Rations will be issued to the bearers of cards certified to by the chairman of 
the local board of charities, which issues will be entered when made upon the issue 
card, and in a book to be kept at the subdepot, and no issue will be made except to 
the bearer of an issue card or his authenticated representative, whose name is writ- 
ten thereon. Accounts of issues will be rendei'ed monthly by the division inspectors. 

XL All cards must be taken up when filled and filed as vouchers to the issue 
account of the subdepots. 

XII. Commanders of depots and subdepots will make timely requisitions for sup- 
plies, and Avill be held responsible that the food is brought to the needy with the 
utmost promptness. 

By command of Brigadier-General Davis: 

W. P. Hall, Adjutant-General. 



General Orders, \ Headquarters Department of Puerto Rico, 

No. 118. J San Juan, August 16, 1899. 

Upon the recommendation of the judicial board, the following reorganization and 
functions of the judiciary of this island were approved on August 10, 1899, and are 
published for the information and guidance of all concerned: 

1. The organization and functions of the courts of justice of this island will, from 
the IDth instant, undergo reforms in accordance with the following dispositions: 

2. There shall be a supreme court of justice, with fixed residence in thfe city of San 
Juan, composed of a chief justice and four associate justices, who jointly will consti- 
tute a judicial bench for all civil and criminal business; the court shall also have a 
prosecuting attorney, one secretary, two court clerks, one file clerk and taxer of costs, 
six clerks, one janitor, and two bailiffs. 

3. The island is divided into five judicial districts, whose respective seats shall be San 
Juan, Ponce, Mayaguez, Arecibo, and Humacao. 

4. The judicial district of San Juan will comprise the following municipalities: 
The city of San Juan, Vega-baja, Vega-alta, Corozal, Naranjito, Toa-alta, Toa-baja, 
Dorado, Bayamon, Rio-piedras, Trujillo-alto, Carolina, Rio-grande, Loiza, Caguas, 
Aguas-buenas, Comerio, Cayey, and Cidra. 

5. The judicial district of Arecibo will comprise the following municipalities: 
Arecibo, Manati, Morovis, Ciales, Barceloneta, TJtuado, Hatillo, Camuy, Quebradillas, 
and Lares. 

6. The judicial district of Humacao will comprise the following municipalities: 
Humacao, Piedras, Naguabo, Fajarclo, Yabucoa, Maunabo, Juncos, Gurabo, San 
Lorenzo, Patillas, and Vieques. 

7. The judicial district of Mayaguez will comprise the following municipalities: 
Mayaguez, Anasco, Rincon, Aguada, Aguadilla, Moca, Isabela, San Sebastian, Las 
Marias, Maricao, San German, Sabana-grande, Lajas, and Cabo-rojo. 

8. The judicial district of Ponce will comprise the following municipalities: Ponce, 
Juana-Diaz, Coamo, Barros, Adjuntas, Peiiuelas, Salinas, Guayanilla, Yauco, Guayama, 
Santa Isabel, Aibonito, Barranquitas, and Arroyo. 

9. Justice in civil and criminal matters will be administered in each district by a 
court established in its respective capitol. These courts will have exclusive jurisdic- 
tion and public oral trial of all classes of civil and criminal matters, under the forms 
and procedure established further on in this general order. 

10. Each district court will be composed of three judges, one of whom shall be pre- 
siding judge, and who jointly shall constitute a bench for civil and criminal business. 
To each district court there shall be attached a prosecuting attorney, who will repre- 
sent the law in criminal cases, and in civil cases, when in order. 

11. The district court will be assisted by one secretary, two chamber clerks, one 
court janitor, and two bailiffs. 

12. The civil suits in progress of appeal before the supreme court will be transferred 
to the San Juan district court, acting as a court of second instance, which shall hear 
and decide them in conformity with the law r now in force. Criminal cases, except 
those awaiting appeal, shall also be turned over to the San Juan district court by the 
supreme courtT 

13. Criminal cases in process before the court of Ponce will be turned over to the 



EEPOET OF BRIOADIEK-GENEKAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 137 

district court to be established for that district. The court of Mayaguez will also 
turn over its business to the district court likewise to be established there. 

14. Business in progress before courts of instruction and first instance courts shall 
be turned over with due formalities to the district courts corresponding to each 
respective judicial district. 

15. The criminal business transferred from the abolished courts shall be proceeded 
with by the district courts. Matters of civil litigation shall also follow their course 
up to the step in procedure known as presentation of proofs, when they shall be con- 
tinued under the rules of civil oral suits established by this general order. If said 
civil business shall have got so far as presentation of proofs without concluding same 
the remainder shall be heard in oral suit, but if the suit be found in a stage of pro- 
ceedings subsequent to the presentation of proofs it shall be finished and decided by 
the district courts in conformity with existing proceedings, after public hearing, it 
being understood that recourse of cassation against the decision shall only be allowed 
within the dispositions of this general order. 

JUDICIAL RESPONSIBILITY. 

16. The administration of justice shall be carried on with entire independence and 
without any other limitation than the civil or criminal responsibility which judges 
or courts may incur by reason of their actions, for which they will be answerable as 
provided in General Orders, No. 98, current series, these headquarters. 

17. The investigation of charges in cases treating of judicial responsibility may be 
given in charge of judicial functionary of category superior to the accused, but only 
the supreme court in banc shall authorize the presentation of the charge. 

18. Civil responsibility of judges, judicial functionaries, and attorneys shall be in- 
curred for the following reasons: Manifest infraction of the law, corrupt misstatement 
of facts, and negligence or want of diligence in complying with judicial duties and 
functions. 

19. Civil responsibility may be demanded before the supreme court and under the 
rule established for civil oral suits before the district courts by the parties prejudiced. 

20. No appeal lies against decisions of the supreme court. 

21. Civil or criminal responsibility incurred by minor functionaries of the admin- 
istration of justice shall be exacted before the district or municipal court correspond- 
ing, and in the usual form established by ruling dispositions. 

22. It shall not be necessary to give bond or establish a preliminary suit in order 
to lodge accusation or complaint against judicial functionaries or attorneys. 

23. When the members of the supreme court incur responsibility, they shall be tried 
by a special tribunal as established in paragraph 13 of General Orders, No. 98, cur- 
rent series, these headquarters. 

MUNICIPAL COURTS. 

24. There shall be a municipal court hi each municipal district, Each municipal 
court shall consist of one judge and two associate judges, who shall jointly decide 
and sign all the cases that have been properly brought before the court and. deter- 
mined by the same. 

25. In criminal matters, municipal judges shall have cognizance in all misde- 
meanors established by the ruling penal code, as well as petty thefts, frauds, and 
offenses against property in cases where the~amomit of- the object of the offense or 
damage occasioned does not exceed §5, United States currency, which offenses shall 
be considered misdemeanors, with the exception of those comprised in article 538 of 
the penal code, which shall be judged by the corresponding district court. They 
shall also have cognizance in assaults where the healing of wounds caused shall have 
been completed in not more than fifteen days. In all these cases they shall apply 
the respective punishments stated by the code. 

26. In civil matters municipal judges shall have cognizance of all litigation where 
the amount at stake between litigants does not exced 3400, United States currency. 

27. It shall also be the duty of municipal judges to prepare the preliminaries in 
criminal cases within the limits of investigation; substantial proof of punishable acts, 
their nature, gravity, and essential circumstances; search for the author or authors; 
their detention or imprisonment in accordance with the law, and the seizure of the 
instruments of'the crime or objects which might convict, in cases where such exist. 
These preliminaries must be practiced by municipal judges within the period of six 
days after they recerve the information that a crime has been committed. 

28. The police force as a whole and individually is also obliged to attend to the 
preliminary investigation of all crimes until the appearance of the municipal judge 
to whom they will give notice immediately. 



138 EEPOET OF BEIGADIEE-GENEEAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 

29. As soon as municipal judges have completed the preliminary investigations in 
criminal cases within the period previously fixed, they shall send them by a police 
officer without delay to the attorney of the respective district court, together with the 
prisoners, as supposed authors of the crime, if any has been made. 

30. The designation of the associates shall be made by lot in the following manner: 
Each municipal judge shall request the respective alcalde to furnish him with a list 
of competent persons or residents with academic or professional diplomas, and of 
such persons as have held the position of alcalde, councilor, or municipal judge, and 
another list of an equal number of municipal taxpayers in the order of the amount 
paid, beginning with the largest amount. These lists, which shall be rectified or 
added to each year, shall include only persons of more than 21 years of age who 
know how to read and write. 

31. On the first day of each quarter, or every three months, the municipal judge 
shall call a meeting of the persons inscribed in the two lists and publicly and in 
the presence of those attending will draw by lot one from each list, so as to form 
pairs, until both lists are exhausted. This will cause each pair to be formed of one 
competent person and one taxpayer. On the conclusion of the drawing a list shall 
be prepared of the associates who have so served during the quarter, which shall be 
posted in the court room, duly signed by the judge, secretary, and others present. 

32. The associateSj in the order of their respective terms and without prejudice to 
the particular obligation of each when his proper turn arrives, shall act as substitutes 
one for the other. 

33. The municipal judge shall advise the associates when their turn arrives, stating 
the day and hour a sufficient time beforehand. With this object municipal judges 
shall name one, two, or more days if necessary in each week for the prompt and 
orderly decision of business in hand. 

34. Municipal judges shall receive under oath, subject to the penalties of perjury, 
statements from the associate judges that no motive or just and legal impediment 
preventing them from sitting on the case connects them with the litigants. 

35. The associate judges whose turn it is may have cognizance of all suits awaiting 
decision on the day corresponding to such turn, which suits shall not be passed on 
for the cognizance of other associates. 

In the act of the trial shall be stated the decision which shall contain the result of 
the voting and the resolution of the pending cases, without the form known as 
"resultando y considerando." 

36. Against the decision of municipal and associate judges free appeal will lie to 
the respective district court. Eecourse of appeal must be had within five days, count- 
ing from the day following the notification of sentence. 

37. An appearance must be put in before the district court within a period of ten 
days after notice being served. 

38. Both parties having put in an appearance, the district court shall set a day and 
hour for the public hearing, at which either the litigants, their legal representatives, 
or their lawyers may appear. 

39. No appeal of any sort shall lie against the decisions of the district courts in 
civil or criminal verbal suits. 

40. As a recompense for the increased work which the foregoing imposes on the 
municipal courts, an amount shall be appropriated in the insular budget for the 
benefit of the secretaries of said courts both for personal services and materials. 
For this purpose different categories shall be formed, taking into consideration the 
greater amount of work which may fall-to the share of the courts in municipalities 
containing the most inhabitants. 

CRIMINAL PROCEDURE. 

• 

41. The attorney of the district court on receiving the summary sent by the munic- 
ipal judge shall issue an order for the detention of the prisoners, if any, in the cor- 
responding prison, and within the precise period of ten days shall draw up a bill of 
charges or present a petition for quashing. In cases of wounding, the recovery of the 
person wounded shall be awaited, which recovery shall be certified to by the physi- 
cian in attendance under his exclusive responsibility and without need of ratification. 

42. On presentation of the bill of charges by the prosecuting attorney the court 
will inform the accused thereof, so that he can state whether or not he agrees to the 
penalty requested, and if not, he shall be required immediately to name his lawyer 
for the defense. If the lawyer named refuses to defend, the first lawyer on the list 
will be appointed, and the accused will be informed thereof to enable him to give 
instructions accordingly. 

43. As soon as the defense files a bill of conclusions in writing within five days, 



REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 139 

the court will decide upon the admission of the testimony proposed, and shall imme- 
diately set a day and hour for the hearing of the oral trial. 

44. In the record of the oral trial the petitions of the prosecuting attorney and 
lawyer for the defense regarding the points which they may consider essential to 
assuring the exactitude of the evidence of witnesses of experts shall be succinctly 
stated. The questions in examination or cross-examination ruled out by the court 
shall also be recorded. 

45. In cases provided for by the law of criminal procedure appeal in cassation will 
lie against sentences pronounced by the district courts for infraction of law or error 
in procedure. 

46. Against writs or ordinances of the district courts which are not of mere pro- 
cedure appeal always lies to the same court for reconsideration or amendment. 

CIVIL PROCEDURE. 

47. All civil litigations between parties when the amount exceeds $400 United 
States currency, shall be originally heard and decided before the respective district 
court in the form established by the following articles. 

48. The litigants must be advised by lawyers registered at the bar of this island, 
and may appear personally or by procurator, as they choose. 

49. The claim must be lodged with the district court which shall first decide whether 
to admit it, and it shall immediately name, in order of precedence, a judge or mem- 
ber of the court who shall conduct the preliminaries of the suit up to the oral hear- 
ing. Said judge will make all the orders of mere procedure, and the district court the 
writs and resolutions not of that character. 

50. On the admittal of the claim, it shall be handed to the defendant in the suit 
for him to reply within a period of twenty clays, which can not be extended, and 
within which time he must also put in an appearance in the suit. Pleas of counter- 
claim will be allowe'd, and in such the demandant will have three days to answer 
the counterclaim. 

51. On reply being made to the claim, and the plaintiff being furnished with a 
copy of such reply, or on the defendant being accused and declared in default, the 
preliminary judge shall cite the litigants for a verbal hearing, setting a day and hour 
therefor, with notice of not less than fifteen nor more than twenty days. 

52. Both litigants or their legal representatives, accompanied by their respective 
lawyers, shall appear at this hearing, and shall present in writing a notice of the tes- 
timony of every description which each intends to call for. At this meeting the law- 
yers on both sides may amplify or add to the documents they had drawn up. 

53. The preliminary judge shall confine himself to hearing the petition of the liti- 
gants, noting down briefly and succinctly the arguments presented by each one, and, 
after ordering that the documents presented form part of the records, shall declare 
the hearing terminated, and shall reduce to writing the minutes thereof, giving notice 
to the court, at its first session, of the notices of testimony presented for the court to 
resolve therein as is proper. 

54. If neither of the litigants have asked for hearing of testimony in their docu- 
ments of claim and reply, the court shall immediately set a day and hour for a public 
hearing, at which the lawyers for the complainant and defense shall state their 
client's case. 

55. The district court shall examine the testimony proposed to be submitted, admit- 
ting that which they consider pertinent, and at once setting a day and hour for the 
hearing of the civil oral suit. 

56. If testimony is to be taken outside of the territory of this island, the necessary 
rogatory letters trial shall be granted in the proper form and through the proper 
channel, and the hearing of the suit shall be put off until the extraordinary stay be 
terminated or the testimony taken by commission be returned. For the compari- 
son of public documents with their originals, the court, when deciding on the admis- 
sion of testimony, shall issue letters mandatory containing the necessary clauses 
conferring sufficient power on municipal judges of the districts where the comparison 
is to be made. Should the comparison have to be made outside of his jurisdiction, 
he will grant the required letters of rogation. 

57. On the day of the hearing the testimony proposed shall be examined before the 
court and with the intervention of the lawyers of both parties, who shall examine 
the witnesses or experts in turn by questions, cross-examination, or declarations 
Which they consider necessary for their case within the matter under discussion and 
that proposed in the document of testimony. The court may throw out any sugges- 
tive, captious, or impertinent question or cross-question. Each witness or expert shall 
be examined first by the lawyer for the case presenting him, afterwards by the law- 



140 REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 

yer for the other side, if he wishes, and lastly by the court, if wishing to make clear 
or ask for explanation of any points it thinks fit. 

58. The secretary of the court shall draw up the minutes of the suit, recording sub- 
stantially the result of evidence and the cross-examining of the lawyers. 

59. On the termination of testimony offered, the lawyers of both parties may com- 
ment on the question under discussion and the rights of their clients. They are 
allowed one opportunity to rectify the allegations adduced in their pleas. The suit 
shall then be declared closed, and decision must be given within not more than ten 
days, counting from the day following the termination of the suit. Said sentence 
must be drawn up and written in the form established by the law of civil procedure 
when referring to major suits. 

60. The appearance of witnesses and experts shall be compulsory, except when, in 
the opinion of the court, they can allege and prove just cause. Any witness or expert 
not appearing, without just cause, shall be fined not exceeding $50, at the discretion 
of the court. 

61. Each expert or witness should be indemnified by the party he appears for, and 
for this purpose, on the termination of each suit, the court will fix the amount of 
indemnity and will immediately inform each of the litigants or their legal representa- 
tives the amounts they are called on to pay to each witness, except when litigating 
as paupers. In this case indemnities shall be paid in the same manner as those paid 
to witnesses or experts in criminal cases. 

62. Should the defendant present a dilatory plea in abatement, evidence shall be 
taken thereon, and at the conclusion of the evidence the lawyers on both sides shall 
present their argument verbally, the main suit being meanwhile suspended for the 
time purely necessary for the court to give a succinct decision in the incidental matter. 
If the plea is sustained, it shall, of course, have effect as against the claim; if over- 
ruled, the original suit shall continue its course. 

63. Costs shall always be paid by the litigant who loses his ease on all points. In 
othes cases the court shall give an equitable decision in the matter of costs. 

64. By costs are understood lawyer's fees, procurator's fees, indemnities for wit- 
nesses and experts, and the legal expenses necessarily incurred as a direct conse- 
quence of litigation. 

GENERAL PROVISIONS. 

65. Both in civil and in criminal matters judges shall discuss their decisions pri- 
vately, but the voting thereon must be held at a public hearing and in the presence 
of the litigants or their legal representatives. The presiding judge shall put the 
question or questions on which a case turns separately to the vote, and shall 
endeavor to separate duly the different points debated. Each of the judges shall 
reply simply "Yes" or "No," and the decision shall be immediately recorded accord- 
ing to majority of votes. In civil matters the decision shall be reduced to form by 
the judge who conducted the preliminaries, unless he dissent from the decision. In 
criminal matters it shall be done by the judges by turns. 

The dissenting judge shall write his opinion at the foot of the decision. 

ADDITIONAL CIVIL PROVISIONS. 

66. All the attributes conceded to judges of first instance under the law of civil 
procedure in proceedings relating to meetings of creditors, bankruptcy, intestacy, 
probate, and other matter relative to declaration suits and suits in liquidated claims 
shall remain in force and shall be exercised by the district courts; nevertheless, should 
the case arise that in any of these proceedings contest occurs within the limits of the 
law, the district court shall hear the claim and rebuttal and the evidence in the 
manner previously established, and shall proceed to decide thereon in civil oral suit. 

67. The attributes in favor of judges of first instance mentioned in the law of civil 
procedure and the provisions relating to precautionary attachments, the giving security 
for property in litigation, the execution of judgments, voluntary jurisdiction, and 
Other dispositions relating to judicial questions of a general character shall also remain 
in force and be transferred to the district courts. 

68. In all such cases the judges of the district court by turns shall conduct the 
preliminary proceedings, but the court itself shall issue such writs and orders as are 
not merely of procedure. 

69. In suits of liquidated claims the district courts preserve the attributes enjoyed 
by judges of first instance, following the law of civil procedure up to such step as the 
reply to the claim or failure to reply thereto, in which case the preliminary judge 
will cite the litigant to appear and submit the proposal of evidence to be offered, 



REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 141 

after which the suit shall continue under the rules established for civil oral suits in 
general. 

70. The provisions of the law of civil procedure relative to the form of presenting 
claims and replies, proposal of proofs, and legal formulas in general shall continue to 
exist and be applied. Documentary proofs "may be presented optionally together 
with the claim or reply, or at the hearing held for the proposal of proofs. The 
attendance, and advice of a lawyer for each litigant is obligatory in civil oral suits 
and other cases established by said law of procedure. 

71. The system of procedure established by the law of hypothecation and other 
special laws shall remain in force, it being understood that the district, courts assume 
the jurisdiction and faculties of the abolished supreme court, territorial audiencias, 
and courts of first instance, all cases in which judicial contest arises being settled in 
single instance and by civil oral suit. 

72. All steps, exceptions, and proofs in the various classes of suits shall be such as 
required by the law of civil procedure and according to whether the suit be declara- 
tive, liquidated claim, injunction, eviction, or of other character. Dilatory excep- 
tions, when authorized by the law, shall be presented conjointly with peremptory 
exceptions, and in corresponding order, according to their respective nature. In 
the same form and in one written document proposal of proofs relative to both classes 
of exception must be made. 

73. Petitions for annulment must be pleaded during the oral hearing, and the court 
will previously decide in the form established for dilatory exceptions whether they 
affect the essential validity of the suit. The lawyers for both sides may enter the 
protest they think fit for the purpose of appeal against error in procedure, which 
protests shall be recorded in the minutes. 

GENERAL CIVIL AND CRIMINAL PROVISIONS. 

74. All provisions of the laws of civil and criminal procedure referring concretely 
and specially to forms or manner of procedure different or contrary to the prescrip- 
tions of this order are abrogated. 

75. Verbal suits and proceedings before municipal courts, both in civil and criminal 
matters, shall retain the same form as the present law orders. 

76. The judicial board created by General Orders, No. 98, current series, head- 
quarters Department of Puerto Rico, will proceed as soon as possible to codify such 
dispositions governing civil and criminal procedure as remain in force. These shall 
be divided into two volumes, civil and criminal, respectively, and shall be published 
in the accustomed manner for the information of all concerned. 

77. All disputes or differences between judicial and gubernatorial authorities shall 
be decided by the commander in chief of the department after hearing the opinion 
of the supreme court and its attorney. 

APPEALS TO THE SUPREME COURT. 

78. Appeal to the supreme court will lie in all civil suits for infraction of law and 
error m procedure m the cases which the law of civil procedure defines for the latter, 
but not for suits heard before municipal courts. 

79. Besides the cases defined by the law of civil procedure such appeal will also 
he for error in the consideration of proofs. 

80. In criminal trials appeal may be taken for infraction of law and error in proce- 
, dure incases defined by the law of criminal procedure. 

81. Notice of appeal shall be given to the sentencing district court not later than 
ten days after the day of notification of sentence. 

82. The district court shall decide whether to allow the appeal only when such is 
to be taken for error in procedure, and its decision adverse may be appealed against 
before the supreme court within fifteen days. For this purpose the district court 
when denying right of appeal shall grant a literal and certified copy of the ruling 
against which appeal was sought to the party appealing within three days at the 
latest, and besides shall order both sides to appear before the supreme court. 

83. On the termination of the time allowed for appearance and on the appearance 
of the appellant, the supreme court after public hearing shall immediately give a 
decision on the appeal against the ruling of the lower court debarring right of cassa- 
tion. The lawyers for both sides may be present, and the matter must be decided 
before all other business in hand. 

84. Should the district court allow appeal, the original documents must be sent to 
the supreme court after citing the parties to appear during a period of ten davs. It 
shall not be necessary to give any bond on appeal to the supreme court. 



142 REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 

85. On the appearance of the appellant before the supreme court of cassation the 
documents shall be given him to enable him to base and establish his appeal in 
writing within twenty days. His appeal in writing shall be handed to the other 
litigant for twenty days also, and on the return to the court of all the documents it 
shall set a day and hour for a public hearing, at which the prosecuting attorney and 
the lawyers on both sides shall state their cases according to whether the matter be 
a civil or criminal suit. 

86. The supreme court shall give its verdict by vote in public in the form previously 
established in this order for district and municipal courts and within five days of the 
public hearing. After giving decision, the original documents shall be returned to 
the proper court with a certified copy of such a decision. All sentences of the supreme 
court of justice shall be published in the Official Gazette. 

87. All provisions of the laws of civil and criminal procedure relative to the sub- 
stantiation of appeals which are in opposition to the provisions of this order are 
repealed. 

COMPLEMENTARY PROVISIONS. * 

t 

88. The positions of judge or prosecuting attorney of the supreme court of justice 
and district court shall be filled by lawyers only. 

89. Besides the legal diploma the nomination of judicial functionaries shall be niade 
after taking into account services rendered, seniority at the bar, and known ability in 
the profession. 

90. The secretaries of the supreme court of justice and district courts must also be 
lawyers. Taking into account the employees of the courts of first instance, who by 
virtue of this order will lose their positions, it is hereby ordered that such "escri- 
banos" as possess the necessary conditions as to capability, honesty, and good service 
in their last position will be given preference in selecting secretaries of the district 
courts. 

91. Municipal judges must also be lawyers registered at the bar of this island, but 
when such are not available in the respective municipalities, persons possessing the 
best conditions of fitness and capacity for judicial functions may be nominated. Law- 
yers holding the office of municipal judge are not permitted to practice law. 

92. The nomination of municipal judges and attorneys shall be made in the manner 
established for the rest of the personnel of the administration of justice until such 
time as they may be chosen by suffrage. 

93. Secretaries of the municipal courts shall be nominated in the manner estab- 
lished by the preceding paragraph. 

94. The court shall nominate one or more supplementary judges to substitute the 
incumbent in case of vacancy, absence, or sickness. Each attorney shall also nomi- 
nate his substitute for the same reason. 

These nominations must be made from among lawyers registered at the bar of this 
island, who are practicing in the town where the court sits. • Substitute judges shall 
receive $6 for each day's service in the district courts and $10 if serving in the supreme 
court of justice. 

95. Judges of the courts and attorneys do not require any permission for absenting 
themselves, but shall receive no salary during their absence, and must see to it that a 
substitute fill their places. 

96. Notice and proof to the entire satisfaction of the court of which he forms part 
must be given by a judge or attorney when sick, during which period only one-half of 
the salary shall be allowed. 

97. The presiding judge of each court shall give notice, under his responsibility, to 
the solicitor-general of the absence of any of its members through sickness or other 
causes. 

98. Should the sickness last more than three months, the court of which the sick 
"judge forms part shall so inform the solicitor general to enable him to take the necessary 

action. The above provisions are applicable to court secretaries, court clerks, and 
other employees of the administration of justice. 

99. The court shall also inform the attorney-general of all vacancies, absences, and 
substitutions, for purposes of keeping the proper accounts. 

By command of Brigadier-General Davis: 

W. P. Hall, Adjutant- General. 



REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 143 

General Orders, \ Headquarters Department of Puerto Rico, 

No. 119. j g an j U an, August 16, 1899. 

I. In addition to the military post npon the island, the following places are desig- 
nated as depots of supplies for the destitute in their neighborhoods: Bayamon Fa- 
jardo, Caguas, Arroyo, Guanica. 

A detachment of one officer and twenty -five men will be sent to each of these places 
to receive, care for, and distribute supplies. The officer in charge will, if necessary 
rent suitable buildings for the proper transaction of his duties, and will forward to 
these headquarters requisitions as indicated by paragraph 8, General Orders No. 117 
current series, these headquarters, and will be governed by this order and such other 
instructions as may be given. 

II. The commanding officers of San Juan and Ponce will supply from their posts 
the officers and detachments for these points as follows: From San Juan: Bayamon 
Caguas, Fajardo. From Ponce: Arroyo, Guanica. 

III. The destitute in the v£»rious municipalities will be supplied from depots or 
subdepots as follows: 

Sun Juan.— Rio Piedras, Carolina, Loiza, Trujillo Alto. 

Bayamon.— Toa Baja, Toa Alta, Naranjito, Dorado, Corozal. 

San German. — Sabana Grande, Lajas. 

Fajardo.— Rio Grande, Luquillo, Ceiba. 

Mayaguez.— Cabo Rojo, Hormigueros, Las Marias, Maricao, Anasco. 

Caguas. — Gurabo, San Lorenzo, Aguas Buenas, Juncos. 

Arroyo. — Guayama, Salinas, Patillas. 

Guanica. — Yauco, Guayanilla, 

Manati — Morovis, Ciales, Vega Baja, Vega Alta. 

Arecibo.— Utuado, Hatillo, Camuy, Quebradillas, Barceloneta. 

Ponce.— Juana Diaz, Santa Isabel, Penuelas, Coamo. 

Humacao.— Yabucoa, Naguabo, Piedras, Maunabo. 

Aiboniio. — Barros, Barranquitas. 

Cayey.— Sabana del Palmar, Cidra. 

AguadiUa.— Moca, Aguada, Rincon, Isabela, San Sebastian. 

IV. While this plan of distribution will be followed as near as practicable it may 
be found necessary on account of difficulties in certain lines of travel to make slight 
changes m the depots or subdepots from which parts of municipalities will draw their 
supplies. Officers in charge of depots are authorized to make these changes when 
necessary. b 

V. The quartermaster's department will supply such transportation and ridin^ 
animals as may be required at Bayamon, Fajardo, Caguas, Arroyo, and Guanica. & 

By command of Brigadier-General Davis : 

W. P. Hall, Adjutant- General. 

General Orders, \ Headquarters Department of Puerto Rico, 

°" . • -* San Juan, August 17, 1899. 

An advisory board, (1) for consideration of questions on insular policy, (2) for 

devising measures looking to the industrial and economic improvement of Puerto 

Kico, {6} tor concerting measures that may soonest enable the sufferers from the 

storm to rebuild and restore their houses, fields, and shops, is hereby appointed, to 

consist of the followmg-named gentlemen, who have consented to serve: Mr. Andrew 

Orosas, Mr J R. Latimer, Mr. Francisco Acuiia, Mr. M. Egozcue, Mr Manuel 

^T% m -> Sa ™? g 2 V a i mer ' Mr. Rafael Palacios Apellaniz, & Mr. F. Guillermety, 
and Mr. Ramon Mendez Cardona. J 

The military governor of Puerto Rico will be ex officio the president of the board, 
but as nis public duties will frequently prevent his participation in its meetings, the 
board at its first meeting for organization is requested to elect a vice-president and 
secretary. The signatures of these officers only will be necessary to authenticate 
proceeamgs, reports, and recommendations. 

Papers relating' to these and other subjects above indicated will be referred to the 
board, and reports will be submitted from time to time 

A suitable room for the sessions of the board will be provided by the civil secre- 
tary and stationery and office furniture will be supplied by the same officer. 

1 fie board is requested to nominate for appointment a clerk and typewriter, who 
should also be a competent translator, also an office messenger. The salary of these 
employees to be $1,600 and $300 per year, respectively. Additions will be made to 
the budget to cover the office expenses of the board. 

By command of Brigadier-General Davis: 

W. P. Hall, Adjutant-General. 



144 REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 

General Orders, \ Headquarters Department of Puerto Rico, 

No. 122. J San Juan, August 17, 1899. 

The society established on this island, under the name of ' ' Protectora de los Ani- 
mates, " is to defray all its expenditures for personnel and materiel out of such funds 
as it may collect arising from fines imposed for infringement of its regulations. 

The "juntas" established in towns of the island shall render monthly accounts to 
the president at San Juan, who shall in his turn render them monthly to the civil 
secretary of the governor-general of Puerto Rico. 

The reports of the several "juntas" will contain a statement of the number of 
cases of arrests for cruelty to animals and the amount of the fine imposed and col- 
lected in each case. 

By command of Brigadier-General Davis: 

W. P. Hall, Adjutant- General. 



f 

General Orders, \ Headquarters Department of Puerto Rico, 

No. 123. J San Juan, August 18, 1899. 

Paragraph II, General Orders, No. Ill, current series, these headquarters, is 
amended by adding thereto the following subparagraph: 

(d) Mortgage bonds (cedulas hipotecarias) issued by any established banking house 
of Puerto Rico may be accepted as surety, with the approval of the governor-general, 
the bonds being properly accompanied by a written instrument showing the number 
of the bond and issue of the same, and the conditions of the transfer, together with a 
certificate of the validity of the bond. 

By command of Brigadier-General Davis: 

W. P. Hall, Adjutant-General. 



General Orders, \ ' Headquarters Department of Puerto Rico, 

No. 124. j San Juan, August 19, 1899. 

I. It having been brought to the attention of the department commander that 
idle, able-bodied men are refusing work at fair wages, it is hereby ordered that no 
such man who so refuses will be permitted to draw food for himself or family. All 
men who receive food are required to do such work or service as their division 
inspector or his representative may direct. 

II. Any person who misapplies any material furnished for the relief of the desti- 
tute by fraudulently obtaining or by selling or otherwise disposing of the same will 
be punished by a fine not exceeding f 500 for each offense or by imprisonment for a 
period not exceeding one year. 

III. When food can not be obtained from other sources a division inspector is 
authorized to sell directly at cost price (commissary list) to the heads of families 
resident in his district such food from the supplies in his depot as is absolutely neces- 
sary to prevent hunger in said families. The amount of food thus sold must not 
exceed a week's supply at the rate of 1 pound per day for each individual in the 
family. The money thus received will be accounted for to the board of charities for 
Puerto Rico, San Juan, following the general method laid clown in Army Regulations. 

By command of Brigadier-General Davis: 

W. P. Hall, Adjutant-General. 



General Orders, \ Headquarters Department of Puerto Rico, 

No. 125. J San Juan, August 22, 1899. 

In view of the recent hurricane which has so severely devastated this island, it is 
hereby ordered that the collection of taxes due by landholders to the insular treasury 
and municipalities, as well as all executions for arrears of such taxes, be suspended 
until further instructions. Taxes on city property, where owners can produce legal 
evidence that their houses have been destroyed or seriously damaged by the storm, 
are also ordered to be remitted. 

By command of Brigadier-General Davis: 

W. P. Hall, Adjutant-General. 



REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DA^S. 145 

General Orders, \ Headquarters Department of Puerto Rico, 

No. 126. J San Juan, August 22, 1899. 

The attention of the alcaldes and others concerned is called to the fact that the peo- 
ple in the country districts and in the open parts of towns should he required to at 
once plant corn, potatoes, beans, and such other vegetables of rapid growth as will at 
the earliest possible moment resupply the country with the requisite food. No excuse 
should be accepted for failure to comply with this order, the requirements of which 
will receive the personal attention of the alcaldes as well as that of the comisarios de 
barrios. 

By command of Brigadier-General Davis: 

W. P. Hall, Adjutant-General. 



General Orders, \ Headquarters Department of Puerto Rico, 

No. 128. J San Juan, August 24, 1899. 

In order to avoid as far as possible the annoyance and damage caused by stray 
animals, it is hereby ordered: 

First. Alcaldes are authorized to impose fines, for the benefit of the municipal 
treasuries, upon the owners of stray animals found trespassing upon private property. 

Second. In the investigation of complaints of this character, alcaldes shall institute 
oral examination of the interested parties and their witnesses. For the purpose of 
taking such evidence the alcalde is authorized to administer oaths. Against his deci- 
sion there shall be no appeal. 

Third. Fines imposed by alcaldes pursuant to the foregoing paragraphs shall be 
as follows: For the first offense, §1 per head; for the second offense within six months, 
§2 per head; for each subsequent offense within six months, S3 per head. 

Fourth. Persons upon whom fines have been imposed pursuant to the foregoing 
paragraph who fail to pay the same within three days shall be arrested and confined 
in municipal jail one day for each dollar which they may fail to pay. Owners of 
property who suffer damages from stray animals may institute civil action before the 
proper court for such damages. 

Fifth. A copy of this order in Spanish and in English shall be posted publicly on 
the door of every alcalde's office for the information and guidance of all concerned. 

Sixth. All laws or orders in conflict with the foregoing provisions are hereby 
revoked. 

By command of Brigadier-General Davis: 

TV. P. Hall, Adjutant-General. 



General Orders, \ Headquarters Department of Puerto Rico, 

No. 129. j San Juan, August 24, 1899. 

1. It having come to the notice of the department commander that the provisions 
of the penal code of Puerto Rico for the prevention of the crime of duelling have for 
some years past been disregarded by the authorities charged with their enforcement, 
and that persons have been permitted to engage in this pernicious practice without 
official interference or punishment, it is hereby announced that according to the 
spirit of American law and institutions it is a serious offense to challenge another to 
fight a duel, either by word or letter, or to be the bearer of such challenge, or to 
endeavor to provoke another to send a challenge, or to aid or abet in provoking or 
inciting a duel. To act as principal in a duel, or to participate in a duel as a second, 
attending surgeon, or assistant to either of the principals in a duel, whether either 
principal is injured or not, is a high misdemeanor. 

2. Where one of the parties to a duel is killed, the survivor is guilty of murder, 
and all who are present, aiding and abetting in the act, are accomplices. 

3. In order that there may be no misunderstanding regarding this matter in future, 
it is hereby ordered that all persons who participate in duels as challengers, bearers 
of challenges, or as provoking or endeavoring to provoke challenges to fight duels, 
shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and shall, upon conviction thereof, be punished by 
imprisonment at hard labor in jail for not less than three nor more than six months. 

4. All persons who participate as principals, seconds, surgeons, or assistants in 
duels, where there are no resulting wounds or injuries, shall, upon conviction thereof, 
be punished by confinement at hard labor for not less than six months nor more 
than one year. 

5. All persons who participate in duels, either as principals, seconds, surgeons, or 
assistants, where one of the parties is wounded, shall be deemed guilty of assault 

12558 10 



146 REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 

with intent to kill, and, upon conviction thereof, will be punished by confinement 
in the penitentiary at hard labor for not less than one year. 

6. All persons participating in duels, either as principals, seconds, surgeons, or 
assistants, where one of the parties is killt'd, or dies as the result of a wound received 
in said duel, shall be deemed guilty (as principals or accomplices) of murder, and, 
upon conviction thereof, shall be punished accordingly. 

7. The district courts instituted by General Orders, No. 114, current series, these 
headquarters, and the United States provisional court instituted by General Orders, 
No. 88, current series, these headquarters, shall have current jurisdiction over the 
offenses herein described. It is hereby made the duty of all judges and officers con- 
nected with the said courts and of all municipal judges, alcaldes, and members of the 
insular and municipal police forces of this island to give immediate information to 
the nearest court having jurisdiction of any violation of this order. 

8. All laws, decrees, or orders now or heretofore existing in conflict with the pro- 
visions of the foregoing order are hereby revoked and annulled. 

By command of Brigadier-General Davis: 

W. P. Hall, Adjutant-General. 



General Orders, \ Headquarters Department of Puerto Rico, 

No. 130. j San Juan, August 29, 1899. 

General Orders, No. 22, current series, these headquarters, dated February 17, 1899, 
relative to a reward of $100, to be given to any person for the apprehension and 
delivery to the military authorities, and conviction of anyone guilty of arson, mur- 
der, robbery, or violent assault for the purpose of murder or robbery on the part of 
anyone forming a combination known as the banditti or organization for violating 
the law, is revoked. 

By command of Brigadier-General Davis: 

W. P. Hall, Adjutant-General. 



General Orders, \ Headquarters Department op Puerto Rico, 

No. 132. J San Juan, August 31, 1899. 

Under the provisions of Article IX of the Treaty of Peace between the United 
States and Spain, "Spanish subjects, natives of the Peninsula," residing in Puerto 
Rico, ' ' may preserve their allegiance to the Crown of Spain by making before a court 
of record, within a year from the date of the exchange of ratification of the treaty, a 
declaration of their intention to preserve such allegiance, in default of which decla- 
ration they shall be held to have renounced it and to have adopted the nationality of 
the territory in which they may reside." 

I. The proclamation of the President of the United States announcing the ratifica- 
tion of the Treaty of Peace having been made on April 11, 1899, the limitation of one 
year referred to and prescribed in the treaty will begin to run from that date. All 
Spanish subjects, natives of the Peninsula, residing in Puerto Rico, who desire to 
preserve their Spanish nationality, may declare such intention before the municipal 
judge of the municipality in which they live. Those who fail to do so on or before 
April 10, 1900, will be understood to have renounced their allegiance to Spain, and 
will be considered as having adopted citizenship in Puerto Rico. 

II. For the purpose of permanent record and the protection of the parties concerned, 
a document will be prepared in duplicate in each case by the municipal judge setting 
forth the following facts: 

(a) The name and surname of the interested party, his or her age, nationality 
(specifying the province) , civil status, and profession, trade, or occupation. 

(//) Names of wife and children, should there be any, and the names of the appli- 
cant's parents. 

(c) The date in which the declaration is made and signed. 

This document shall be subscribed by the applicant and witnessed by the signa- 
tures of the municipal judge and the secretary of his court. 

III. Unmarried women (natives of the Peninsula) of legal age will make declara- 
tion in the same manner as men. 

IV. Guardians may make declarations for their wards (such children being natives 
of the Peninsula) , but any such ward who attains the age of 21 years before April 11, 
1900, may renounce such act when he or she becomes of legal age by appearing 
before a municipal judge and making declaration of such renunciation, and such 
renunciation will be recorded, indorsed, and returned in the same manner as here- 
inafter prescribed for declarations. 



REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 147 

V. Immediately upon the execution of the document the municipal judge shall 
transmit both copies to the civil secretary for registration in the bureau of state and 
municipal affairs. The chief of the bureau will enter the document in a register pre- 
pared for the purpose, file one copy in his office, and return to the municipal judge 
the other copy, duly indorsed with its serial number and the date of entry in the 
register of nationality. The copy so returned will be immediately delivered by the 
municipal judge to the interested party. 

VI. No fees of any character shall be required fer the execution of the documents 
provided for in this order. 

VII. Municipal judges will be held responsible for a careful compliance with the 
provisions of this order. 

VIII. Printed blank forms will be prepared by the chief of the bureau of state 
and municipal affairs, under the direction of the civil secretary, and furnished upon 
application and without charge to the municipal judges. 

IX. The civil rights and political status of other inhabitants of this island are to be 
determined by Congress as provided in the treaty. 

By command of Brigadier-General Davis: 

W. P. Hall, Adjutant- General. 



General Orders, \ Headquarters Department of Puerto Rico, 

No. 134. J San Juan, August 31, 1899. 

Upon the recommendation of the judicial board it is hereby ordered as follows: 

I. In order to practice law in Puerto Rico it shall be requisite to be 21 years of age 
and have the title of lawyer. 

II. On and after this date it shall be requisite that the title of lawyer be obtained 
at a university of the United States, or at such law school as may be established in 
Puerto Rico, except in exceptional cases hereinafter named. A certificate of admis- 
sion to the bar of the Supreme Court of the United States shall also be a sufficient 
title to exercise the profession of lawyer in this island. 

III. The title of lawyer practicing at present before the tribunals of this island, 
which are registered at the present bar association, shall be valid and effective for all 
legal purposes connected with the practice of the profession. 

IV. Native lawyers shall be admitted to the practice of the profession upon the 
presentation of law diplomas which have been heretofore issued by Spanish or Cuban 
universities. 

V. Lawyers who are matriculated at the existing bar association shall continue in 
the exercise of their profession upon promising to present their diplomas; but they 
shall be obliged to present said diplomas within six months from the day on which 
this order is published in the Official Gazette, which period shall not be extended, 
and on failing to do so they shall immediately cease to practice. 

VI. The university law diplomas presented by native lawyers who have begun 
their studies at any university of Spain or Cuba previous to the change of sovereignty 
in this island shall be valid and admitted, provided that said circumstance be proved 
to the satisfaction of the supreme court of justice. 

VII. Lawyers who are in possession of certificates of admission to the bar issued 
by tribunals of the different States or Territories of the United States, or of the 
District of Columbia, may practice in Puerto Rico after having passed an examination 
before the supreme court of justice to the satisfaction of said court that they have a 
sufficient knowledge of the laws of the island. 

VIII. Diplomas or certificates shall be presented to the supreme court of justice for 
registration when found to be in accordance with the conditions required by this 
order, and after having been registered the oath may be taken before any tribunal. 

IX. In special cases of exceptional importance the supreme court of justice may 
permit distinguished foreign lawyers, upon presentation of their titles, to exercise 
their profession for the exclusive purpose of defending their countrymen or the 
interests of the same. 

X. The titles of Spanish lawyers referred to in General Orders, No. 69, shall be 
respected. 

XL The profession of solicitor (procurador) is hereby abolished. Those who have 
practiced successfully said profession of solicitor (procurador) before any tribunal 
shall be entitled, in default of lawyers, to be appointed municipal judges or secretaries 
to the municipal courts. 

XII. In future, when not appearing personally, parties litigant shall be represented 
before the supreme court of justice^and the district courts exclusively by lawyers, 
without the necessity of furnishing the latter with a letter of attorney, and any 
lawyer who assumes a representation for which he has not been authorized shall be 



148 REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 

suspended by the tribunals from exercising his profession for such period as may be 
determined by the court, aside from the civil or criminal responsibility which he may 
have incurred. 

In the municipal courts parties litigant may appear in person or be represented by 
a resident of the locality duly authorized by them for the purpose. 

XIII. For the purpose of conducting the minor affairs connected with judicial 
business lawyers may avail themselves of agents, whom they shall designate in writ- 
ing to the courts of justice. 

By command of Brigadier-General Davis. 

W. P. Hall, Adjutant-General. 



General Orders, \ Headquarters Department of Puerto Rico, 

No. 135. J San Juan, September 2, 1899. 

General Orders, No. 119, current series, these headquarters, is modified to read as 
follows: 

I. In addition to the military posts upon the island, the following places are desig- 
nated as depots of supplies for the destitute in their neighborhoods: Bayamon, 
Fajardo, Caguas, Arroyo, Guanica. 

A detachment of one officer and twenty-five men will be sent to each of these 
places to receive, care for, and distribute supplies. The officer in charge will, if nec- 
essary, rent suitable buildings for the proper transaction of his duties and will for- 
ward to these headquarters requisitions as indicated by paragraph 8, General Orders, 
No. 117, current series, these headquarters, and will be governed by this order and 
such other instructions as may be given. 

II. The commanding officers of San Juan and Ponce will supply from their posts 
the officers and detachments for these points as follows: 

From San Juan: Bayamon, Caguas, Fajardo. 
From Ponce: Arroyo, Guanica. 

III. The destitute in the various municipalities will' be supplied from depots or 
subdepots as follows: 

San Juan. — Rio Piedras, Carolina, Loiza, Trujillo Alto. 
Bayamon.— Toa Baja, Toa Alta, Naranjito, Dorado, Corozal, Comerio. 
San German. — Sabana Grande, Lajas. 
Fajardo. — Rio Grande, Luquillo, Ceiba. 

Mayaguez. — Cabo Rojo, Hormigueros, Las Marias, Maricao, Anasco. 
Caguas. — Gurabo, San Lorenzo, Aguas Buenas, Juncos. 
Adjuntas. — 

Arroyo. — Guayama, Salinas, Patillas. 
Lares. — San Sebastian. _ • 
Guanica. — Yauco, Guayanilla. 

Manati.— Morovis, Ciales, Vega Baja, Vega Alta, Barceloneta. 
Arecibo. — Utuado, Hatillo, Camuy, Quebradillas. 
Ponce. — Juana Diaz, Santa Isabel, Penuelas, Coamo. 

Humacao— Yabucoa, Naguabo, Piedras, Maunabo, Vieques, Culebra, and other 
islands. 
Aibonito. — Barros, Barranquitas. 
Cayey. — Cidra. 
Aguadilla. — Moca, Aguada, Rincon, Isabela. 

IV. While this plan of distribution will be followed as near as practicable, it may 
be found necessary on account of difficulties in certain lines of travel to make slight 
changes in the depots or subdepots from which parts of municipalities will draw 
their supplies. Officers in charge of depots are authorized to make these changes 
when necessary. 

V. The quartermaster's department will supply such transportation and ndmg 
animals as may be required at Bayamon, Fajardo, Caguas, Arroyo, and Guanica. 

By command of Brigadier-General Davis. 

W. P. Hall, Adjutant-General. 



General Orders, \ Headquarters Department op Puerto Rico, 

No. 136. J San Juan, September 5, 1899. 

On the "15th instant the customs houses at Vieques, Fajardo, and Guanica will be 
closed; the employees thereat will be discharged, and these ports will be discontinued 
as ports of entry. , . 

Upon due notice from owners or masters of vessels desiring to load or unload at 



REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 149 

either of these ports the collector of customs for Puerto Rico or the collector at the 
nearest port, as hereinafter set forth, will designate an inspector or appraiser to super- 
vise the matter, the extra expenses of such detail to be paid by the owners or masters 
of vessels. 

The ports of Fajardo and Vieques are placed under the supervision of the collector 
of customs at Humacao and that at Guanica under the supervision of the collector of 
customs at Ponce, these collectors being authorized to employ a guard, with the title 
of customs agent, at a salary of S30 per month at each of these ports to represent them 
there. 

The records and office furniture of the port of Guanica will be sent to the collector 
of customs at Ponce and those of the ports of Vieques and Fajardo to the collector of 
customs at San Juan. 

By command of Brigadier-General Davis: 

W. P. Hall, Adjutant- General. 



General Orders, \ Headquarters Department of Puerto Rico, 

No. 137. J San Juan, September 5, 1899. 

The island of Miraflores and the public buildings thereon are assigned temporarily 
as the quarantine station of this port and will be turned over to the quarantine inspector 
of the island of Puerto Rico. 

They will be put in order and so maintained by the board of public works. 
By command of Brigadier-General Davis: 

W. P. Hall, Adjutant-General. 



General Orders, \ Headquarters Department op Puerto Rico, 

No. 138. J San Juan, September 6, 1899. 

The collection of taxes due by land holders to the insular treasury and municipali- 
ties having been suspended, alcaldes are hereby ordered to institute investigation 
proceedings upon request of the parties concerned in order to determine which of 
these are entitled to have their taxes remitted for the current fiscal year, in view of the 
damages caused to their property by the hurricane of August 8, 1899. The papers 
relating to said proceedings drawn in conformity with all the requirements of the law 
shall be forwarded to the civil secretary, who shall submit same to the governor- 
general for his approval. 

By command of Brigadier-General Davis : 

W. P. Hall, Adjutant- General. 



General Orders, \ Headquarters Department of Puerto Rico, 

No. 142. j San Juan, September 18, 1899. 

With the concurrence of the superior board of health, General Orders, No. 101, 
current series, these headquarters, relating to the sale of fresh beef, is amended so as 
to remove the restriction upon the slaughter of pregnant cattle for beef, when not 
more than six months pregnant, such cattle being otherwise in healthy condition. 
By command of Brigadier-General Davis: 

W. P. Hall, Adjutant- General. 



General Orders, \ Headquarters Department of Puerto Rico, 

No. 143. J . San Juan, September 19, 1899. 

I. The number of councilmen in the various municipalities of the island will here- 
after be in accordance with the number prescribed in the following table: 



Mayor. 



Council- 
men. 



In towns of — 

Not more than 8,000 inhabitants I 1 

Over 8,000 inhabitants and not exceeding 16,000 1 

Over 16,000 inhabitants j l 



150 REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 

II. Until municipal elections can be held for the purpose of conforming to the 
above rule no vacancies now existing, or which may hereafter occur in town coun- 
cils, shall be filled, unless the number of councihnen forming the municipal corpo- 
ration is or shall be reduced below the quota herein authorized, in which case the 
vacancies will be rilled by appointment by the governor-general. Report of such 
vacancies, should any occur, will lie made to the governor-general by the mayor. 

III. Upon the date on which the newly elected municipal council of any city or 
town is installed in office, the municipal board of such city or town will cease to exist. 

By command of Brigadier-General Davis: 

W. P. Hall, Adjutant-General. 



General Orders, \ Headquarters Department of Puerto Pico, 

No. 144. J San Juan, September 19, 1899. 

The municipal courts created by General Orders, No. 118, current series, these 
headquarters, being charged with all business relating to the civil register, it is the 
duty of the municipalities to provide for the necessary expenses of personnel and 
material for maintaining said register. The municipalities will also provide for the 
payment of all necessary expenses for postage for the official correspondence of their 
respective municipal courts. 

By command of Brigadier-General Davis: 

W. P. Hall, Adjutant-General. 



General Orders, \ Headquarters Department of Puerto Rico, 

No. 145. j San Juan, September 21, 1S99. 

Municipal elections which may hereafter be held in this island will be conducted 
according to the following rules: 

I. The election will be under the general direction and control of an army officer, 
to be designated by the commanding general of the department as the officer in 
charge. 

II. The officer in charge will, by public advertisement, at least twenty days in 
advance of the date fix!ed upon for the election, call upon the contending political 
parties to assemble in peaceable convention and nominate their candidates for the 
respective offices. 

There shall be eligible for the offices of alcaldes, councihnen, municipal judges, and 
suplente only those taxpayers of the municipality who are included in the first two- 
thirds of the total number of taxpayers, arranged in the order of the amount of taxes 
paid, or members of the liberal professions. Each convention will, through its pre- 
siding officer and secretary, certify the list of persons nominated by their convention 
to the officer in charge, who will thereupon prepare the printed ballots (the form of 
Australian ballot being used) , and will furnish the same in sufficient quantity free of 
charge to the executive committees of the contending political parties. The expense 
of printing ballots will be borne by the municipal treasury. 

III. Within three days after receiving the lists of candidates from the respective 
conventions the officer in charge will organize a board of registration, consisting of one 
army officer as president and two members of each of the contending political parties. 
Each civil member of this board, before entering upon his duties, will take oath before 
the municipal judge (for which oath there will be no charge or fee) for the faithful 
discharge of his duties. After this board is thus duly qualified it will prepare poll 
lists of the eligible voters of the municipality, and as soon as such lists are completed 
copies thereof will be publicly posted by the board for three days at the 'post-office, 
alcalde's office, and such other public places as the board may deem advisable. Each 
voter, upon being registered, will be serially numbered, and the number thus given to 
each will be posted opposite his name in the polling list. 

The polling place of each number or series of numbers will also be posted in like 
manner. 

IV. During the three days on which the poll lists are publicly posted the board of 
registration will remain in session for the purpose of receiving challenges or objec- 
tions to any of the voters named in such lists, and applications for registration from 
those whose names may have been erroneously omitted therefrom. The place, dates, 
and hours of meeting of said board shall be publicly announced by the officer in 
charge by posters at the post-office, alcalde's office, and in such other manner as he 
may deem proper. 

V. An elector, to vote at such elections, shall possess the following qualifications: 
(a) He must be a bona fide male resident of the municipality. 



REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 151 

(b) He must be over 21 years of age. 

(c) He must be a taxpayer of record at the date of his registration, or he must be 
able to read and write. 

(d) He must have resided upon the island of Puerto Rico for two years next pre- 
ceding the date of his registration, and for the last six months of said two years 
within the municipality where the election is held. 

VI. In determining the ability of voters to read and write, any standard book or 
newspaper may be used by the board of registration, the voter being required to 
write one or more phrases from dictation. 

VII. Upon the revision and completion of the polling lists the board of registration 
will certify to the correctness of the lists, each member signing the certificate, and will 
then turn the lists over to the proper boards of supervisors. 

VIII. Boards of supervisors to superintend the balloting, and each to consist of one 
'army officer as president and one member each of the opposing political parties, will be 

appointed by the officer in charge. Each civilian member of these boards shall take 
oath as prescribed in Paragraph III of this order for the faithful discharge of his duties. 

IX. No challenges will be received by the boards of supervisors at the polls, except 
as to the identity of voters with the persons whom they represent themselves to be as 
named in the official polling lists. 

X. Should there be any doubt in the mind of any member of the board of super- 
visors as to the identity of a voter with the person whom he represents himself to be, 
proof will be required to establish his identity to the satisfaction of the board. 

XL For the purpose of establishing the identity of voters whose identity is chal- 
lenged, the president of the board of supervisors in each polling place is empowered 
to administer oaths to the challenged party and to the witnesses whom he may pro- 
duce to establish his identity. False swearing under this article shall be subject to 
the same pains and penalties as perjury. 

XII. Any person who fraudulently votes, or attempts or offers to fraudulently vote, 
at any public election, shall, upon conviction thereof, be subjected to a fine not exceed- 
ing $100 or to imprisonment at hard labor not exceeding three months, or to both 
such fine and imprisonment, at the discretion of the court. 

XIII. It shall be the duty of each member of the boards of supervisors having 
knowledge of fraudulent voting, or of attempt to fraudulently vote, to file informa- 
tion in the proper court against the person so offending. Upon receipt of such infor- 
mation the prosecuting attorney will institute the proper proceedings without delay. 
The district courts instituted by General Orders, No. 114, current series, these head- 
quarters, shall have jurisdiction of all pixtsecutions relating to elections in their 
respective districts. 

XIV. All polling places and the hours for balloting will be publicly announced by 
the officer in charge by written or printed posters displayed at the post-office and at 
the alcade's office, and also in such other manner as he may deem proper, at least 
three days, before the day of election. A copy of this order, in Spanish and English, 
will also be posted for three days preceding the first day of registration at the post- 
office, alcade's office, and at such other places as the officer in charge may deem 
advisable. 

XV. In voting for councihnen each elector shall have the right to vote for candi- 
dates not exceeding in number the following: For 6, where the number to be elected 
is 9; for 8, where the number is 12; for 10, where the number is 15. 

And when the number marked on any ballot exceeds the proportion above specified 
said ballot shall not be counted. 

XVI. Voters are cautioned to put no writing or marks on the ballot except a char- 
acteristic mark thus f or thus x in the margin opposite the name of the person for 
whom they desire to vote. Ballots otherwise marked will be rejected. 

Those candidates receiving the highest number of votes shall be declared elected 
in order up to the number of seats to be filled. 

In case of a tie vote between councihnen of the same party, that one will be declared 
elected whose name appears nearest the head of the list on the ballot. 

In case of a tie vote between councilmen of different parties, those will be declared 
elected whose party does not elect the alcalde. 

XVII. From the hour that the polls open until they close the ballot boxes shall 
remain publicly exposed in the custody of the proper boards of supervisors. 

XVIII. Ballot boxes must not be removed from the polling places until the polls 
are closed. 

XIX. No polling places shall be located outside the limits of the town in which the 
election is held. 

XX. Every precaution will be taken to see that every person who is entitled to 
vote has opportunity to do so. The necessary precautions will be taken by the offi- 



152 REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 

cer in charge to avoid disturbances at the polls and to keep the way to the ballot 
boxes unobstructed. 

XXI. Immediately after the polls are closed the various boards of supervisors will 
begin the counting of the ballots which have been deposited in the ballot boxes under 
their particular charge. The ballots will be carefully preserved. A certificate of the 
count and result of the votes will be signed by the three members of the board, and 
shall state that the vote was conducted fairly and honestly, or shall state such irregu- 
larities, if any, as may have occurred. All the ballots, together with the certificate 
of the board, will, in the presence of the board, be inclosed in one package, carefully 
sealed, and delivered by the board immediately to the officer in charge. These 
packages, with seal imbroken, will be brought by the officer in charge to these head- 
quarters by the first available transportation, where the result will be announced 
and the necessary orders given for installing the successful candidates in office. 

XXII. The persons elected at such election shall hold office until November 1, 1900. 
In case vacancies occur within the year by death, resignation, or for other legal cause, 
the council will elect suitable eligible persons to fill such unexpired term. 

By command of Brigadier-General Davis: 

W. P. Hall, Adjutant- General. 



General Orders, \ Headquarters Department of Puerto Rico, 

No. 146. J San Juan, September 21, 1899. 

I. Hereafter the business of municipal councils will be conducted according to 
parliamentary rules. 

II. One-half plus one of the total membership, including the alcalde, will consti- 
tute a quorum. 

III. Attendance by all members at all regular or special meetings is obligatory. 

IV. Absent members (except where prevented from attending by sickness or other 
evident necessity) , shall be equally responsible with those present for any action or 
resolution taken by the council. 

V. Excuses for absence will be presented to the council, and if accepted and 
approved by the same they will be so entered in the minutes of the meeting. 

VI. If disapproved, a statement of the facts, with the action of the council,, will be 
forwarded to the governor-general, with the recommendation of the council. The 
action taken will also be entered in the minutes of the meeting. 

By command of Brigadier-General Davis: 

W. P. Hall, Adjutant- General. 



General Orders, \ Headquarters Department op Puerto Rico, 

No. 147. J San Juan, September 23, 1899. 

Upon the recommendations of- the advisory board on insular affairs and of the 
judicial board the following is published for the information and guidance of all con- 
cerned : 

"Retroactive effect is hereby given to General Orders, No. 16, current series, these 
headquarters, dated November 26, 1898, and all dues heretofore known as royal 
clues on the transfer of property, inheritance, and similar transactions, as referred to 
in said general orders, and which at this date remain unpaid, are hereby remitted." 

By command of Brigadier-General Davis: 

W. P. Hall, Adjutant-General. 



General Orders, \ Headquarters Department of Puerto Rico, 

No. 148. J San Juan, September 23, 1899. 

The Spanish translation of section 4, Paragraph VIII, General Orders, No. 88, cur- 
rent series, these headquarters, is corrected so as to read: 

' ' Offenses committed by or against foreigners or by or against citizens of another 
State, district, or Territory of the United States, residing in this department." 
By command of Brigadier-General Davis: 

W. P. Hall, Adjutant- General. 



REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 153 

General Orders, \ Headquarters Department of Puerto Rico, 

No. 150. J San Juan, September 26, 1899. 

I. Hereafter the records of all courts, magistrates, notaries, registrars, municipali- 
ties, and other public offices shall be open to the inspection of the public during 
office hours. 

II. All officers or custodians in charge of such records shall furnish officially cer- 
tified copies thereof to any person who may make application therefor upon payment 
of the following fees: For each folio of transcript of a record, 15 cents, American 
currency; for each official certification of a transcript, 25 cents, American currency. 

III. The term folio shall mean 100 words, counting each figure as a word. Where 
there are over 50 and under 100 words they shall be counted as one folio, but a less 
number than 50 words shall not be counted except when the whole document so 
copied contains less than fifty words. 

IV. All fees collected under the provisions of this order by salaried officials shall 
be turned in monthly to the insular treasury. Those collected by unsalaried officials 
shall be retained by the official making the certificate. 

By command of Brigadier-General Davis. 

W. P. Hall, Adjutant-General. 



General Orders, \ Headquarters Department of Puerto Eico, 

No. 151. j San Juan, September 27, 1899. 

The following orders are published for the information and guidance of all con- 
cerned : 

PURITY AND WHOLESOMENESS OF FOODS, DRINKS, DRUGS, AND MEDICINES. 

1. Foods and drinks in the meaning of this order are all articles used for food or 
drmk by man, whether simple or compound. The term drug includes all medicines 
used by man, whether for internal or external use. 

2. No adulterated articles of food or drink shall be made or sold in Puerto Rico; 
articles ordinarily recognized as foods, which are reallv mixtures, may be sold, if 
marked with the word "mixture" or "compound." 'No diseased, decomposed, 
offensive, or unclean article shall be used in the manufacture of any food, drink, or 
medicine. 

3. No person shall sell in Puerto Rico any impure, diseased, decayed, or unwhole- 
some provisions, or any adulterated bread, or any food substance mixed with a 
poisonous substance. 

4. No person, whether owner, manager, keeper of, agent, bartender, or clerk, in 
any saloon, restaurant, boarding or eating house in Puerto Rico, shall offer for sale 
any food or drink containing anything poisonous or unwholesome. 

5. No person owning, renting, or leasing any stall, room, or stand, where milk, 
meats,_ vegetables, or groceries are sold as food, shall fail to keep said room, stall, or 
stand m a cleanly condition, nor shall such persons allow such milk, meats, vegetables, 
or groceries to become poisonous or infected or unfit for food by reason of uncleanly 
condition of such stall, room, or stand. 

6. No person shall offer for sale in Puerto Rico any unwholesome, watered, or 
adulterated milk, or milk produced from cows which are visibly diseased or are kept 
upon and fed on garbage, swill, or other deleterious substances. 

7. No person in Puerto Rico shall sell any article of food or drug which is not of 
the nature, substance, and quality of the article demanded by any purchaser; and 
no person shall sell any compound food or drug which is not composed of ingredients 
m accordance with the demand of the purchaser. 

8. No person in Puerto Rico shall subtract from any article of food any part of it, 
so as to affect injuriously its quality, substance, or nature; and no person shall sell 
any article so altered without making disclosure of the alteration. 

9. All drugs sold must be of the standard quality and strength prescribed in the 
bpamsh or United States pharmacopoeias. 

10. All compound, proprietary, patent, or secret remedies sold in Puerto Rico shall 
bear upon the bottle, box, or package an exact formula, stating the constituents of 
tne medicine or remedy. 

_ 11. No pharmacist, not a legally qualified physician, shall prescribe remedies for the 
sick. Every bottle, box, or package containing any medicine or dru^ shall be labeled 
with the name of the same and with the name of the physician who wrote the pre- 
scription. Pharmacists shall not sell arsenic, strychnine, or other compounds, or 
other drugs, commonly known as deadly poisons, except upon the prescriptions of 



154 EEPOET OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 

legally qualified physicians. Before such sale is made the name of drug and its quan- 
tity, the name of the physician presmbing and also the name of the purchaser shall 
be entered in a book especially kept for the purpose. The purchaser shall sign his 
name in a book below the entry made by the druggist. Every bottle, box, or pack- 
age containing a dangerous drug shall be distinctly labelled " poison " and the person 
shall be warned of the nature of the article. 

12. Violation of the provision of this regulation shall, upon conviction, be punished 
with a fine of not less than $10 nor more than $200, or imprisonment for not less than 
five nor more than ninety days, at the discretion of the court, 

By command of Brigadier-General Davis: 

W. P. Hall, Adjutant- General. 

CIRCULARS, 1899. 

Circular, \ Headquarters Department of Puerto Rico, 

No. 1. / San Juan, March 10, 1899. 

In the construction of all works and improvements upon this island by the United 
States Government, or under its supervision, native Puerto Ricans possessing profi- 
ciency will, when practicable, be employed in preference to all foreigners; this to 
prevent the importation of foreign labor to the detriment of Puerto Ricans. 
By command of Major-General Henry: 

W. P. Hall, Adjutant-General. 



Circular, \ Headquarters Department op Puerto Rico, 

No: 3. J San Juan, March 18, 1899. 

The alcaldes of the several jurisdictions of the vaccination divisions of this depart- 
ment are required to use all their authority to secure prompt compliance on the part 
of the people with the order of these headquarters requiring all the inhabitants to 
present themselves for vaccination when notified. Any persons failing to so present 
themselves, either for vaccination or examination afterwards, as directed, will be 
punished. 

No person who can not present a duly attested official certificate of vaccination after 
the date when the official vaccination in his or her barrio or district is completed, 
shall be admitted to any school, public or private, shall travel by any public con- 
veyance, visit any theater or any place of public resort, engage in any occupation 
related to the public, or receive employment. 

All school-teachers, managers, employers, and others affected by this order will 
govern themselves accordingly under penalty. 

By command of Major-General Henry: 

W. P. Hall, Adjutant-General. 



Circular, \ Headquarters Department op Puerto Rico, 

No. 8. J San Juan April 11, 1899. 

By direction of the Acting Secretary of War, Messrs. De Ford & Co., fiscal agents of 
the United 'States for the island of Puerto Rico, will not discount drafts or checks 
drawn on Government funds or custom-house receipts, but will pay the same in full 
on presentation. 
By command of Major-General Henry: 

W. P. Hall, Adjutant- General. 



Circular \ Headquarters Department of Puerto Rico, 

No. 17. J San Juan, July 3, 1899. 

Referring to General Orders, No. 71, current series, from these headquarters, the 
following instructions are published: 

1. A writ of habeas corpus — in general terms — is one that is issued for the delivery 
of a prisoner to the authority issuing same by the person who has him in custody, 
for the purpose of ascertaining and deciding without delay whether the prisoner 
should continue in confinement, have his bail reduced or altered, or be released on 
his own recognizance. 

2. The petition for a writ of habeas corpus must be made by addressing an appli- 
cation in writing to any of the authorities enumerated in paragraph 1 of General 
Orders, No. 71, current series. In said petition the party concerned shall set forth: 
What authority or person ordered his arrest; the date thereof; the causes that led to 
his imprisonment; the place of his confinement; whether he is held without bail, or 
in case bail has been required the amount of same; the allegations he may see fit to 



EEPOET OF BEIGADIEE-GEISTEEAL G-EO. W. DAVIS. 155 

advance in support of his petition; the evidence he may have to substantiate said 
allegations; and lastly, a request that the.writ of habeas corpus be issued, and that 
after the proper formalities he be ordered released under his own recognizance or his 
bail fixed or reduced. 

3. Upon receipt of this petition by the judge or court to whom it is addressed, 
should he have no jurisdiction over the party concerned, he shall forthwith refer 
said petition to the nearest authority having such jurisdiction, giving due notice 
thereof to the petitioner. 

4. When the petition has reached the hands of a judicial authority having juris- 
diction over the petitioner he shall immediately issue a writ of habeas corpus to be 
served upon the party who has the custody of the petitioner, ordering the prisoner 
to be brought before him, and the writ returned with a statement thereon as to the 
causes of the imprisonment, the manner in which it was ordered, and the time the 
prisoner has been confined. 

5. When the prisoner has been brought before the authority issuing the writ of 
habeas corpus he shall be examined under oath as to the truth of the statements 
contained in the petition. He shall then be made cognizant of the report of his 
custodian, indorsed upon the writ. The evidence offered by him in support of his 
statements shall be briefly heard or examined in his presence, within the term he 
may demand therefor, should such evidence be necessary for the purpose. 

6. On the day following the last one of the term fixed for the verification of the 
evidence the aforesaid authority, after duly weighing same and taking into account 
the petitioner's allegations, shall decide thereon according to law and justice. 

7. All persons indicted for an offense the penalty whereof is less than that of cor- 
rective confinement shall remain at large. All those indicted for offenses whereof 
the penalty is greater than that of corrective confinement shall be admitted to bail, 
in cash or property, in proportion to the gravity of the offense, and the injury caused 
by it, except in cases of murder. 

8. When the party requesting a writ of habeas corpus does not reside in the same 
city or town with the authorities enumerated in paragraph 1 of General Orders, No. 
71, current series, said authorities may designate the inferior authority before whom 
the prisoner should be brought by his custodian, and who is to verify the evidence, 
an indorsement to that effect being made upon the writ. 

9. When by virtue of a writ of habeas corpus the release of a prisoner or the reduc- 
tion of his bail has been ordered, the judicial authority issuing same shall forward 
a copy of said decision to the judge or court where the prisoner is being tried, in 
order that it may be joined to the record of the case. 

10. The writ of habeas corpus and the decision given by reason thereof shall not 
affect the final judgment that eventually may be given in the prosecution instituted 
against the party requesting it. Its object is only to prevent the undue prolongation 
of his detention in jail. 

11. The writ of habeas corpus shall be issued without cost to the petitioner. 
By command of Brigadier-General Davis: 

W. P. Hall, Adjutant-General. 



Circular, \ Headquarters Department op Puerto Rico, 

No. 23. J San Juan, July 31, 1899. 

1. All physicians, health officers, alcaldes, municipal judges, or other persons hav- 
ing knowledge of cases of cholera, yellow fever, leprosy, oriental plague, diphtheria, 
or glanders, shall at once notify the secretary of the superior board of health at San 
Juan by telegraph if possible, if not, by letter. 

2. Municipal judges and alcaldes will send one copy of their monthly health 
returns direct to the secretary of the superior board of health. 

3. Physicians will continue to make returns to the municipal judges for the present. 
By command of Brigadier-General Davis: 

W. P. Hall, Adjutant-General. 



Circular, \ Headquarters Department op Puerto Eico, 

No. 27. J San Juan, August 12, 1899. 

Under instructions from the AVar Department, upon the recommendation of the 
military governor, all agricultural and sugar-making machinery imported into Puerto 
Eico has been placed upon the free list. Customs taxes will not be hereafter col- 
lected on them. 



156 EEPOET OF BRIGADIEE-GENEEAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 

Under instructions from the same authority, upon the same recommendation, the 
tax of $4 per head on castrated oxen imported into Puerto Rico exclusively for 
slaughter has also been remitted, so that they will b'e admitted to this island free of 
duty. 

By command of Brigadier-General Davis: 

W. P. Hall, Adjutant- General. 



Circular, ^ Headquarters Department of Puerto Rico, 

No. 28. J San Juan, August 19, 1899. ' 

The established rate of wages to laborers upon public works is 5 centavos per hour 
or its equivalent in United States currency. This applies also to all laborers employed 
in barrack reconstruction and other ordinary labor. Tools will be furnished by the 
employer. 
By command of Brigadier-General Davis: 

W. P. Hall, Adjutant-General. 



Circular, \ Headquarters Department of Puerto Rico, 

No. 32. J San Juan, September 1, 1899. 

The destruction caused by the recent hurricane, while deplorable, may be made 
ultimately to result in substantial benefits to the inhabitants of Puerto Rico. 

Not the least important of these is the opportunity afforded of beautifying the cities 
and villages and improving their sanitary conditions. 

Attention is invited to the circular of June 8, 1893, issued by the Spanish governor- 
general, the provisions of Avhich, so far as applicable to present conditions and except 
as herein modified, are reiterated. 

Each and every town in Puerto Rico should be divided into three zones: 

First. That in which the buildings should be of brick or stone.- 

Second. That in which the buildings may be either brick, stone, or w r ood, and 
must be roofed with metal or tiles and substantially constructed. Material equally 
durable with wood may also be used. 

Third. That in which the buildings may be of lighter material with thatch or bark 
roofs and siding. 

Particular attention is called to the third zone, which is usually a collection of 
hovels, uninviting in appearance, and because of their unsanitary condition, threat- 
ening to the public health. This zone, as well as others, should be laid out in well- 
defined streets and alleys. In the third zone each street should be at least ten meters 
wide and each alley five meters wide. Each lot in this zone should have an area of 
336 square meters (8 by 42 meters) , which would afford space for a garden in addi- 
tion to the house, and the latter should stand three meters back from the edge of the 
street. 

One lot should not be occupied by more than one family, or have upon it more 
than one residence. There should be a properly constructed latrine for each house 
placed at a convenient distance from it, and wells should be located in suitable 
positions to be indicated by the board of health. 

By command of Brigadier-General Davis: 

"W: P. Hall, Adjutant- General. 



Circular, \ Headquarters Department of Puerto Rico, 

No. 35. J San Juan, September 22, 1899. 

Under the provisions of tariff circular No. 82, War Department, Washington, July 
10, 1899, collectors of customs at the various ports of the island of Puerto Rico are 
hereby designated and empowered to issue certificates of protection to vessels which 
are not documented by law as vessels of the United States, but are by the law of 
nations entitled to the protection and flag of the United States. 

All certificates of protection issued under this circular will be forwarded to these 
headquarters through the collector of customs for Puerto Rico. 

By command of Brigadier-General Davis: 

W. P. Hall, Adjutant- General. 



REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 157 

Appendix C. 

Military Government op Puerto Rico, Headquarters, San Juan. 

[The gentlemen whose names are preceded by an asterisk give their service gratuitously to the mili- 
tary government. No United States Army officer mentioned herein receives any salary from the 
insular government for civil duties performed by him.] 

Military governor. — Brig. Gen. George W. Davis, IT. S. V. 

Lieut. Col. William P. Hall, chief of staff; Capt. George T. Langhorne, acting aid- 
de-camp; First Lieut. John S. Battle, aid-de-camp. 

Commandant of naval station. — Capt. A. S. Snow, U. S. N., captain of the port of San 
Juan. 

The advisory board on insular affairs. — President, the military governor; *Mr. 
Francisco P. Acuiia, vice-president; *Mr. Andres Crosas, *Mr. J. R. Latimer, *Mr. 
M. Egozcue, *Mr. Santiago R. Palmer, *Mr. Rafael Palacios Apellaniz, *Mr. F. 
Guillermety, *Mr. Ramon Mendez Cardona, *Mr. Manuel Paniagua, jr., secretary. 

The judicial board. — * Mr. Hilario Cuevillas Hernandez, Mr. N. B. K. Pettingill, 
Maj. A. C. Sharpe, U. S. V., * Mr. Juan Hernandez Lopez, * Mr. Manuel F. Rossy. 

The solicitor-general. — Mr. Rafael Meto Abeill'e. 

THE JUDICIARY. 

The. supreme court. — Chief justice: Mr. Jose Severo Quiiiones. 

Associate justices: Mr. Conrado Hernandez, Mr. Jose Maria Figueras, Mr. Rafael 
Nieto Abeille, Mr. Juan Morera Martinez, Mr. Luis Ealo y Dominguez, ad interim. 

Prosecuting attorney: Mr. Rafael Romeu Aguayo. 

Secretary: Mr. Eugenio Lopez Gaztambide. 

The United States provisional court. — Law judge: Mr. N. B. Kent Pettingill. 

Associate judges: Maj. Eugene D. Dimmiek, U. S. A., Maj. Earl D. Thomas, U. S. A. 

Attorney United States provisional court: Mr. J. M. Keedy. 

Clerk of the court: First. Lieut. Robert Alexander, U. S. A. 

Marshal United States provisional court: Private Samuel C. Both well, Troop D, 
Fifth United States Cavalry. 

The district court of San Juan. — Mr. Juan Ramon Ramos Velez, Mr. Angel Acosta 
Quintero, Mr. Felipe Cuchi Arnau. 

Prosecuting attorney: Mr. Eduardo Acuna Aybar. 

The district court of Ponce. — Mr. Jose Ramon Becerra Garate, Mr. Isidoro Soto Nusa, 
Mr. Ramon Quiiiones. 

Prosecuting attorney: Mr. Rafael Sanchez Montalvo. 

The district court of Mayaguez. — Mr. Juan J. Perea Bastor, Mr. Felipe Casalduc 
Goicoechea, Mr. Enrique Lloreda Casabo. 

Prosecuting attorney: Mr. Jose de Diego Martinez. 

The district court of Arecibo. — Mr. Julio M. Padilla, Mr. Salvador Fulladosa Mir, Mr. 
Horacio Nieto Abeille\ 

Prosecuting attorney: Mr. Jesus M. Rossy Calderon. 

The district court of Humacao. — Mr. Juan F. Vias Ochoteco, Mr. Ricardo La Costa 
Izquierdo, Mr. Pedro Aldrey Montoliu. 

Prosecuting attorney: Mr. Emilio Toro Cuevas. 

The board of prison control. — Mr. Jose Severo Quinones, Maj. A. C. Sharpe, U. S. V. ; 
Maj. L. P. Davison, U. S. V. ; Mr. Rafael Romeu Aguayo, *Mr. Manuel F. Rossy. 

Secretary and disbursing officer: First Lieut. James J. Hornbrook, U. S. A. 

Treasurer. — Maj. James A. Buchanan, U. S. A. 

Auditor. — Mr. J. R. Garrison. 

Civil secretary. — Mr. Cayetano Coll y Toste, having jurisdiction of the bureaus of 
state, internal revenue, and agriculture. 

Chief bureau state and municipal affairs. — Mr. Manuel Camunas. 
• Chief of bureau internal revenue. — Mr. Calixto Romero. 

Chief of bureau of agriculture, industry, and commerce. — Mr. Juan Bautista Rodriguez. 

Board of education. — Mr. Victor S. Clark, president; George G. Groff, M. D., *Prof. 
Henry Huyke, *Jose E. Saldana, M. D., *Mr. R. H. Todd. 

Board of public works. — Capt. William V. Judson, U. S. A.,' president; Mr. Francis 
L. Hills, Mr. Juan Bautista Rodriguez. 

Superior board of health. — Maj. John Van R. Hoff, surgeon, U. -S. A., president; 
Dr. George G. Groff, secretary and treasurer; Surg. Arthur H. Glennan, U. S. M. 
H. S., Surg. F. W. F. Wieber, U. S. N., *Dr. Gabriel Ferrer, *Dr. Ricardo Her- 
nandez. 

Board of charities. — Maj. John Van R. Hoff, surgeon, U. S. A., president; Surg. F. 
W. F. Weiber, U. S. N., *Mr. Federico Degetau Gonzalez; Capt. G. M. Wells, assist- 



158 REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 

ant surgeon, IT. S. A.; Capt. F. P. Reynolds, assistant surgeon, U. S. A.; *Rev. J. 
de J. Nin, Catholic priest; Rev. Henry A. Brown, chaplain, IT. S. A.; Harold W. 
Cowper, acting assistant surgeon, U. S. A. , secretary and disbursing officer. 

Postal service. — Mr. W. H. Elliot, director of posts. 

Military telegraph service. — Maj. Wm. A. Glassford, IT. S. V. 

Quarantine service. — Surg. Arthur H. Glennan, IT. S. Marine Hospital Service, in 
charge; Asst. Surg. Claude H. Lavinder, IT. S. Marine Hospital Service, at Ponce. 

Light-house service. — Capt. Wm. V. Judson, IT. S. A., engineer; Ensign W. R. 
Gherardi, IT. S. N., inspector. 

Customs service. — Maj. Charles L. Davis, IT. S. A., collector for the island and for 
the port of San Juan; Maj. Francis W. Mansfield, IT. S. A., Ponce; Capt. Pierce M. 
B. Travis, IT. S. A., Mayaguez; Capt. Augustus C. Macomb, IT. S. A., Arecibo; First 
Lieut. Seaborn G. Chiles, IT. S. A., Aguadilla; Capt, Fred W. Foster, U. S. A., 
Arroyo; Capt. Clarence E. Den tier, V. S. A., Humacao. 

Insular -police. — Mr. Frank Techier, chief. 

Appendix D. 

Population of the Island of Puerto Rico foe the Various Years from the Dis- 
covery up to the Present Time, according to Dr. Cayetano Coll y Toste. 

1493 ( Year of discovery) . — According to Fray Bartolome de las Casas, the island 
was populated like a beehive. Fray Inigo Abad accepts Bayacete's total of 600,000 
inhabitants. The probabilities are that, owing to the difficulties of obtaining food 
and to the struggle of the aborigines against the unhealthy condition of the inter- 
tropical zone, the number of indigenes did not exceed 80,000 or 100,000 souls. 

1515. — Thirty -five inhabitants in the village of Caparra and 35 in San German, the 
only towns of the island (Licenciado Velazquez) . The indigenes were divided into 
gangs and made to work in the mines. Those who took part in the uprising Avere 
branded on the forehead with an F. 

1548. — The capital, 130 inhabitants; San German, 20. (Had been burned by French 
corsairs.) 

1646. — The capital, 500 inhabitants; San German, 200; Arecibo, 100, and Coamo, 80. 

1759. — 5,611 fighting men, according to Gov. Esteban Bravo. 

1765. — 44,833 souls, according to Governor O'Reilly (first census). 

1775.— 70,260 souls. (Fray Inigo.) 

1782.— 81,120 souls. 

1783.— 87,984 souls. 

1755.-101,398 souls. 

1795.-120,022 souls. 

1796.-132,982 souls. 

1795.-132,982 souls. (Fray Inigo.) 

1799.-153,232 souls. 

1509.-155,426 souls. 

1802.— 163, 192 souls. 

1595.-174,902 souls. 

151^.-183,014 souls. 

1515.-220,892 souls. 

155^.-358,836 souls. 

1846. — 443,139 souls. (Santiago Fortun.) 

1569.-580,329 souls. (Paulino Garcia.) 

1577.-731,648 souls. 

155^.— 784,709 souls. 

1557.-802,439 souls. This census comprises 474,933 whites, 246,647 mixed bloods,, 
and 76,985 negroes. Also 3,224 members of the army, 114 of the navy, and 536 
prisoners. 

1597.-899,439 souls. This census comprises 573,187 whites, 241,900 mixed bloods, 
and 75,824 negroes. Also 7,014 members of the army, 368 of the navy, and 1,101 
prisoners. 

Since 1867 a census has been ordered taken every ten years. From 1860 to 1867 
no census was taken. A marked decrease will be noticed in the number of negroes, 
by comparing the total of 75,824 in the census of 1897, with that of 76,985 in the cen- 
sus of 1887. By prohibiting the immigration of negroes from the neighboring islands, 
and estimating the annual loss to that race through absorption by the white and 
mixed races at 3 per cent, those 75,824 negroes that remain in the island would 
have disappeared in a period of about 300 years. This is a very interesting anthro- 
pological study, because, on the event of this happening, the island of Puerto Rico 
would be the only one of the West Indies where the white race would predominate 
numerically. 



EEPOET OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 



159 



Population of the Island of Puerto Pico, by nationality, census of 1897 . 
[Compiled from information furnished by Dr. Cayetano Coll y Toste, civil secretary/ 





Natives of — 


Names of towns. 


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o 

Sh 

a 


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18 207 


300 
23 

262 
54 

225 
65 

432 
48 
90 
25 
16 

285 

176 

1,097 

28 

72 

389 
8 

115 
56 
38 
70 
70 
5 
31 

167 

276 
48 
44 
20 

218 
30 

291 
23 
73 
68 
28 

276 

188 
48 

' 44 

101 

100 
22 
1,586 
24 
24 
41 
55 
21 
30 
1,917 
79 
8 
44 

249 
11 
34 

208 
5.297 

100 
16 

115 
40 
26 

176 
21 
56 

124 
53 

263 


98 
1 
3 
1 
6 
3 
79 
12 
6 

3 

21 

5 

21 

5 

1 

3 

2 

•70 


43 


7 


47 
3 

28 

3 

12 

11 

2 


7 
3 
1 

11 
4 
5 

21 


1 










10 

15 

8 

7 

12 

33 

4 

7 

7 

13 

17 

15 

16 

9 

11 

13 

4 

16 

6 

13 

8 

10 

3 

11 

12 

8 

8 

9 

12 

3 

13 

13 

23 

7 

8 

21 

11 

7 

10 

12 

7 

6 

32 

11 

11 

9 

6 

14 

11 

45 

6 

6 

9 

11 

9 

3 

20 

27 

16 

3 

7 

3 

4 

40 

6 

9 

5 

12 

9 6 


031 
393 
042 
385 
989 
633 
697 
704 
761 
158 
117 
756 
644 
799 
658 
579 
101 
147 
771 
142 
174 
606 
638 
898 
921 
427 
540 
114 
328 
521 
231 
069 
850 
887 
966 
121 
567 
122 
928 
206 
456 
823 
264 
885 
196 
003 
780 
825 
416 
607 
531 
222 
108 
610 
674 
746 
929 
397 
364 
045 
972 
522 
582 
623 
698 
007 
885 
152 
787 
590 


1 
6 










20 

1 


7 
1 


23 


4 


1 










1 

2 

40 








3 

144 

6 

30 

4 


1 

24 

1 




2 
5 




1 














1 






1 


















4 
3 

7 
2 








1 

54 

11 

14 

1 

7 

3 

2 

1 








40 
5 

38 
172 

13 
9 
1 

13 


4 
5 

6 
2 

5 


1 
5 
1 




8 
1 














1 














5 
1 


3 
1 
1 
1 














1 




























8 

7 


3 

4 


1 


39 
2 






6 

1 




4 




1 


i 














2 




1 
2 
2 
5 
3 








1 
14 
34 

5 
2 
3 
1 

24 
1 

10 
6 


37 

27 

5 

1 

5 

146 

3 

1 

16 

38 

2 

5 




1 

5 

19 












3 
4 
1 


10 
95 
46 




1 
1 


1 
















1 

1 










Hatillo . 


1 

2 
1 

4 
4 
2 
4 
17 
2 








4 
4 
1 
2 










1 








3 
19 

47 
1 
8 

19 
3 


1 
3 

1 
8 
1 

16 

4 












2 


2 
2 


1 




1 






2 


4 


1 








l 


1 

4 
5 










111 
23 


45 
15 


4 
3 




















15 
24 


8 

37 

2 


1 

3 

1 

22 


3 
3 

27 
9 

74 
















1 

4 

1 
46 






9 

4 








l 
l 


5 














96 
1 
3 
1 
1 
2 
2 
218 

1 

12 

1 

1 

2 

6 

299 

13 

3 

4 

11 

61 
1 
5 

16 

46 


56 


71 


80 
1 


2 


2 








2 
6 
1 

2 

148 

66 

2 

■ 4 

14 

1 

2 

6 

210 

33 

3 


1 
3 

1 

55 
2 

2 

36 
4 
1 


1 

10 
1 

15 

5 

222 


1 
6 












5 


2 
























1 

12 

165 

20 


1 














Ponce 


112 


2 


66 


6 


2 








5 
1 

3 
20 
19 

21 

77 

1 

2 














8 

1 

1 

4 

27 


1 


1 
1 


1 

29 








1 


























7 

242 

5 






San Juan 


7 


66 
3 


22 


10 








14 








Toa-Alta 














3 

1 
72 

3 
12 
14 

1 

7 




1 


2 






8 
1 
1 




Trujillo Alto 












6 

3 
2 


20 
2 

1 
111 

1 
164 


1 














1 








2 
1 




1 
3 
4 
3 










1 


1 










25 




2 

















160 REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 

Population of the Island of Puerto Rico, by nationality, census of 1897 — Continued. 





Natives of — 


Names of towns. 


<6 

3 

hi 

a 


3 
| 


3 

c 
W 


s 

s 

< 


03 
03 

03 

o 


°3 


03 

-a 

03 


6 
c 

03 

R 


03 

o 


>> 

03 

M 

3 

E-i 


c 

03 
03 
CO 


_53 

> 

"o 
pq 


1 

3 
-a 

c 
o 

a 






















































Aguadilla 


4 


5 
1 


4 


1 


1 


6 
1 


3 




















































Anasco 






1 
3 






2 
30 
17 


1 
1 


1 

19 

6 


l 

3 












16 
13 


4 






2 














1 
















































Barros , 












5 
5 


9 
6 
1 


1 
1 






o 






3 

1 


2 
1 








4 
11 








i 


Cabo Rojo 


4 
1 






































3 

7 




















6 








9 


















o 




7 
















1 




2 




4 
1 








































































































































2 








1 

4 
15 
14 

4 




6 






























Fajardo 


9 
18 

1 


1 


1 
3 






1 
1 


26 

20 

3 












Guavama 




















































Hatillo 












































1 














1 
13 












1 






















2 
1 


1 


18 


































4 
























Juncos 








1 




















1 


1 
2 





























3 
1 


1 
1 






















1 






































10 






1 

2 




























1 
1 
8 


4 




1 




























1 


9 


1 
31 






9 


10 
36 














18 






3 i 13 




96 






























2 














11 






i 


7 




20 






































12 
1 






















1 

15 


i 


















143 


20 


58 


31 


58 


216 






1 


























1 


























3 




1 
3 






































1 




















1 
2 
44 
1 
2 






3 

1 


19 


5 
1 

87 














1 
18 


1 
3 
















2 ■ 


48 


27 


9 


6 






















6 




5 












Toa-Alta 






i 






















i 


2 
















Trujillo Alto ... 
































4 






1 


1 


3 










Vega Alta 










3 
8 
1 






















1 


2 
112 

3 

4 














•184 

14 

1 


1 
1 


3 


3 




j 












3 
3 














1 


3 


5 





























REPOET OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 161 

Population of the Island of Puerto Rico, by nationality, census of 1897— Continued. 





Natives of — 


Names of towns. 


5 

s 
a 

o 

o 


tic 
3 

o 


>> 

3 

P 


3 


a 

3 
& 


.3* 
<! 


1 

a 

s 
m 


C 

a 

< 




o 
-a 

3 

o 

H 


'5 


.5 
, 'S 

3 


"3 
o 

1 H 




























18, 710 

10, 062 

15,744 

8,112 

7,649 

13,080 

34, 467 

4,812 

7,836 

7,790 

13,190 

17,558 

15,994 

17,820 

10, 014 

11, 778 

13,999 

4,131 

16,349 

6,828 

13,238 

8,251 

10,688 

656 

3,974 

12, 210 

12,934 

8,648 

8,169 

9,502 

12, 753 

3,271 

13,463 

13, 921 

24, 042 

8,049 

8,165 

22, 065 

11,368 

7,976 

10, 273 

12,630 

7,994 

6,320 

35, 130 




























Aguadilla 


























Aguas Buenas 


























Aibonito 


























Anasco 


























Arecibo 


























Arrovo 


























Barceloneta 


























Barranquitas 
























Barros 






















Bayamon 


























Cabo Rojo 


























Caguas 


























Camuy 




















" ' 




Carolina 


























Cavev 


























Ceiba 


4 
























Ciales 




























1 






















Coamo 






















Comerio 
























Corozal 


























Culebra Island 




1 






















Dorado 




























2 






1 
















(xuayama 






12 














Guayanilla 












































































Hato Grande 


























Honnigueros 


























Humaeao 


























Isabela 


























Juana Diaz 


























Juncos 














































































Las Marias 


























Las Piedras 


























Loiza 


























Manita 






























1 






















Maunado 




























2 










l 






































11, 222 

11,037 

9,894 

6,883 

11,469 

11,660 

49,000 

6,389 

6,125 

9,685 

11, 978 

9,781 






i 






















Naranjito 












































































4 


4 


1 


1 






2 






1 


1 




Quebradillas 












































































































































3,9% 
20, 655 






4 1 
2 










1 


2 


1 




5 




San Sebastian 












16,207 
4,024 
7,641 
3,649 
4,651 


Santa Isabel 


1 






























































































































41,044 
6,038 
9,972 






























1 
























Yabucoa 




















12,.870 












i 








1 


27, 121 



Note —The towns of PatiHas, with 10,956 inhabitants, and Luquillo with 
not included in this table. 



• inhabitants, are 



12558- 



-11 



162 



REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 



Population of the Island of Puerto Rico, by nationality, census of 1897 — Continued. 



RESUME. 



Puerto Rico 858, 111 

Spain 16, 642 

Balearic Islands 1, 433 

Canary Islands 1, 611 

France 1, 226 

Cuba 799 

Denmark 637 

England 517 

Italy 385 

Africa 264 

Venezuela . . '. 251 

Santo Domingo 259 

United States 120 

Turkey 107 

Holland 84 

Arabia 77 

Germany 65 

China 49 

Philippine Islands 43 



Portugal 33 

Mexico 23 

Switzerland 20 

Colombia 13 

Asia 12 

Sweden 8 

Brazil 6 

Belgium 4 

Argentina 2 

Bolivia 2 

Greece 1 

Austria 1 

Uruguay 1 

Russia 1 

Egypt 1 

Ecuador 1 

Honduras 1 

Guatemala 1 

Total 882,811 



Appendix E. 



Population of the, Island of Puerto Rico, showing number of those able to read and write, 
to read only, and who can neither read nor write. 

[Compiled from information furnished by Dr. Cayetano Coll y Toste, civil secretary — Census of 1897.] 



Town. 



Can read and 
write. 


Can read only. 


Can not read or 
write. 


Total 
number 
















Number. 


Per cent. 


Number. 


Per cent. 


Number. 


Per cent. 


itants. 


545 


5.42 


102 


1.01 


9,415 


93.57 


10, 062 


2,710 


26.93 


259 


2.58 


7 


093 


70.49 


10, 062 


740 


9.12 


52 


.65 


7 


320 


90.23 


8,112 


1,047 


13.69 


1,127 


14.73 


5 


475 


71.58 


7,649 


1,656 


12.66 


1,814 


13.87 


9 


610 


73.47 


13,080 


4,368 


12.67 


4,832 


14.01 


25 


267 


73.32 


34, 467 


893 


18.56 


128 


2.66 


3 


791 


78.78 


4,812 


830 


10.59 


86 


1.10 


6 


919 


88.31 


7,835 


654 


8.39 


87 


1.12 


7 


049 


90.49 


7,790 


1,111 


8.42 


468 


3.55 


11 


611 


88.03 


13, 190 


1,928 


10.98 


131 


.74 


15 


499 


88.28 


■ 17,558 


1,500 


9.38 


235 


1.47 


14 


259 


89.15 


15,994 


2,922 


16.39 


332 


1.86 


14 


566 


81.75 


17, 820 


1,076 


10.75 


69 


.68 


8 


869 


88.57 


10,014 


1,360 


11.55 


275 


2.33 


10 


143 


86.12 


11,778 


2,040 


14.57 


158 


1.13 


11 


801 


84.30 


13, 999 


369 


8.93 


50 


1.22 


3 


712 


89.85 


4,131 


1,306 


7.99 


334 


2.04 


14 


709 


89.97 


16, 349 


753 


11.03 


768 


11.25 


5 


307 


77.72 


6,828 


2, 647 


19.99 


661 


4.99 


9 


930 


75.02 


13,238 


821 


9.95 


52 


.63 


7 


378 


89.42 


8,251 


756 


7.07 


108 


1.01 


9 


824 


91.92 


10, 688 


96 


14.63 


11 


1.68 




549 


83.69 


656 


1,300 


32.71 


900 


22.64 


1 


774 


44.65 


3,974 


2,275 


18.63 


2,602 


21.31 


7 


333 


60.06 


12, 210 


2,510 


19.41 


213 


1.65 


10 


211 


78.94 


12, 934 


961 


11.11 


94 


1.09 


7 


593 


87.80 


8,684 


615 


7.53 


40 


.49 


7 


514 


91.98 


8,169 


802 


8.44 


84 


.88 


8 


616 


90.68 


9,502 


1,224 


9.60 


123 


.96 


11 


406 


89.44 


12, 753 


484 


14.79 


555 


16.97 


2 


232 


68.24 


3,271 


1,850 


13.74 


139 


1.03 


11 


474 


85.23 


13, 463 


1,994 


14.32 


155 


1.12 


11 


772 


84.56 


13, 921 


2,435 


10.13 


307 


1.28 


21 


300 


88.59 


24,042 


1,037 


12.88 


1,190 


14.79 


5 


822 


72.33 


8,049 


1,052 


12.89 


86 


1..05 


7 


027 


86.06 


8,165 


2,722 


12.34 


2,985 


13.53 


16 


358 


74.13 


22,065 


1,512 


13.30 


100 


.88 


9 


756 


85.82 


11,368 


578 


7.25 


642 


8.05 


6 


756 


84.70 


7,976 


753 


7.33 


98 


.95 


9 


422 


91.72 


10, 273 


1,508 


11.94 


206 


1.63 


10 


916 


86.43 


12, 630 


1,000 


12.51 


41 


.51 


6 


953 


86.98 


7,994 


589 


9.31 


79 


1.25 


5 


652 


89.44 


6,320 


7,729 


22 


703 


2 


26 


698 


76 


35, 130 


984 


8.77 


20 


.18 


10 


218 


91.05 


11,222 



Aguada 

Aguadilla 

Aguas Buenas . 

Aibonito 

Anasco 

Arecibo 

Arroyo 

Barceloneta . . . 
Barranquitas . . 

Barros 

Bayamon 

Cabo Rojo 

Caguas 

Camuy 

Carolina 

Cayey 

Ceida 

Ciales ... 

Cidra 

Coamo 

Comerio 

Corozal 

Culebra Island 

Dorado 

Fajardo 

Guayama 

Guayanilla 

Gurabo 

Hatillo 

Hato Grande . . 
Hormigueros . . 

Humacao 

Isabela 

Juana Diaz 

Juncos 

Lajas 

Lares 

Las Marias 

Las Piedras 

Loiza 

Manati 

Maricao 

Mannabo ...... 

Mayaguez 

Moca 



REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 



163 



Population of the Island of Puerto Rico, showing number of those able to read and write, 
to read only, and who can neither read nor write — Continued. 



Town. 



Can read and 
write. 


Can read only. 


Can not read or 
write. 


Number. 


Per cent. 


Number. 


Per cent. 


Number. 


Per cent. 


826 


7.48 


121 


1.10 


10,090 


91.42 


975 


9.85 


94 


.95 


8,825 


89.20 


400 


5.81 


47 


.69 


6,436 


93.50 


944 


8.22 


129 


1.13 


10, 396 


90.65 


1,006 


8.63 


91 


.78 


10, 563 


90.59 


8,450 


17.24 


1,194 


2.47 


39, 356 


80.29 


881 


13.79 


51 


.80 


5,457 


85.41 


328 


5.35 


38 


.62 


5,759 


94.03 


1,112 


11.48 


1,216 


12.56 


7,357 


75.96 


1,646 


13.74 


145 


1.21 


10, 187 


85.05 


1,238 


12.66 


1,299 


13.28 


7,244 


74.06 


462 


11.56 


510 


12.76 


3,024 


75.68 


3,545 


17.16 


3,894 


18.86 


13, 216 


63.98 


15, 938 


46.94 


1,191 


3.51 


16,826 


49.55 


1,626 


10.03 


1,823 


11.25 


12, 758 


78.72 


673 


16.72 


135 


3.35 


3,216 


79.93 


764 


10 


152 


2 


6,725 


88 


458 


12.55 


523 


14.33 


2,668 


73.12 


445 


9.57 


40 


.86 


4,166 


89.57 


1,890 


4.60 


130 


.32 


39,024 


95.08 


506 


8.38 


115 


1.90 


5,417 


89.72 


1,111 


11.14 


1,197 


12 


7,664 


76.86 


1,052 


18.31 


121 


2.10 


4,571 


79.59 


1,323 


10.28 


190 


1.48 


11,357 


88.24 


3,386 


12.48 


266 


.98 


23, 121 


86.54 



Total 
number 
of inhabi- 
tants. 



Morovis 

Naguabo 

Naranjito 

Patillas 

Penuelas 

Ponce 

Quebradillas .. 

Rincon 

Rio Grande 

Rio Piedras 

Sabana Grande 

Salinas 

San German . . . 

San Juan 

San Sebastian . 
Santa Isabel . . . 

Toa Alta 

Toa Baja 

TrujilloAlto... 

Utuado 

Vega Alta 

Vega Baja 

Vieques 

Yabucoa 

Yauco 



11,037 

9,894 

6,883 

11, 469 

11,660 

49,000 

6,389 

6,125 

9,685 

11,978 

9,781 

3,996 

20,655 

33,955 

16, 207 

4,024 

7,641 

3, 649 

4,651 

41,044 

6,038 

9,972 

5,744 

12,870 

27, 121 



Appendix F. 

REPORT ON PUBLIC SCHOOLS OF PUERTO RICO, BY THE PRESIDENT 
OF THE INSULAR BOARD OF EDUCATION. 



LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL. 

Brig. Gen. George W. Davis, 

Commanding the Department of Puerto Rico. 

Sir: I have the honor to submit herewith a report upon the public schools of 
Puerto Rico. 

The statistics have been gathered and tabulated and the report dictated upon very- 
short notice, in the midst of the unusually heavy routine office duties attendant upon 
the opening of the schools for the first time under the American system. It is pos- 
sible that inaccuracies in some of the figures may not have been detected, and there 
are many interesting and important matters germane to the rest of the report which 
have necessarily been omitted. We believe, however, that the substance of this 
report is as reliable as is possible when based upon statistics secured from local 
authorities, and that the statement of general conditions affecting education, and the 
conclusions drawn therefrom, are conservative and trustworthy. 

The general statistics relating to common schools have been gathered from muni- 
cipal school boards by this office during the past three months. The statistics as to 
secondary education have been taken from the Memoria of the Secondary Institute 
for the academic year 1896-97, the latest official data in our possession. 

The statistics relating to appropriations, given in the tables of appropriations, under 
''school maintenance," require some explanation. The municipal appropriations in 
Table I of this chapter are those of 1897-98, the latest of which we have reliable data 
and which we are assured by the authorities are practically the same as the appro- 
priations for last year. The general appropriations are those for 1898-99. We have 
included in this estimate of general appropriations the revenues and expenditures of 
the provincial deputation, which ceased to exist the 1st of December, 1898. The 
revenues of this body were derived from the lottery and certain other special taxes 
and appropriations, and previous to the last economic year the appropriations of the 
insular government for secondary and higher education were practically all paid out 
of this budget. The readjustment of appropriations attendant upon the reorganiza- 
tion of the autonomous government, the 1st of December, 1898, destroyed the uni- 
formity in statistics of revenues and expenditures for the economic year in which 
that event occurred. While the finances of the provincial deputation were in liqui- 



164 EEPOET OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 

dation, the industrial school connected with the Beneficencia continued to be sup- 
ported from the sum thus resulting, and no appropriation for that school appears in 
the general budget. Neither is there any appropriation in the general budget for the 
support of the Esculapian Brothers' school, and the Sisters' school at Santurce, for 
the same reason. The United States statistics used for making comparisons are taken 
from the Abstract of the Eleventh Census. 

. In regard to the table given under "Primary education," covering the statistics of 
children of school age, the following fact is worthy of note: That the municipalities 
uniformly reported about one-third of the entire population as between the ages of 
four and sixteen years. This fact is rather interesting, as each municipality reported 
the statistics of the different barrios of its jurisdiction independently and the same 
ratio was maintained throughout. According to this report the children of school 
age constituted 34£ per cent of the entire population of the island. So far as we 
know the only careful and reliable census that has been made in Puerto Rico is that 
of the city of San Juan taken by the military government under the auspices of Gen. 
Fred. Grant, in December, 1898, which gives the total population of the city as 
33,305-, of which 3,389 are boys between 1 and 10 years of age, and 3,383 are girls 
between 1 and 10 years of age. In other words, more than 23 per cent of the popu- 
lation in the city of San Juan, according to these statistics, which we believe are 
reliable, were under ten years of age. The entire number of persons over 50 years 
of age was 2,429, a little over 7 per cent of the whole population of the city. The 
considerations stated in this paragraph would seem to indicate that the proportion 
of children in Puerto Rico of school age, as compared with the entire population, is 
very large. 

The leading points of this report which we would emphasize and especially call to 
your attention are the following: 

(1) Over 80 per cent of the people of Puerto Rico, according to the most reliable 
estimates, are unable to read and write, and the education of the greater part of the 
literate population is exceedingly elementary. 

(2) School facilities provided in the past and at the present time do not afford 
accommodation for more than one child in seven of the school population, at a very 
conservative estimate. 

(3) The former proportion of the total local and general revenues of this island 
devoted to educational purposes was but a little over one-fourth the proportion 
devoted to such purposes in the United States, and less than one-half the proportion 
devoted to such purposes in the territory of New Mexico. Since you have taken 
command of this department this proportion has been more than doubled, but it is 
still far below what is customary in the States or what is most urgently needed in 
this island. 

(4) The cost of the public-school system in this island under Spanish rule, per 
capita per pupil enrolled, was greater than the cost of the public schools in Maine, 
Missouri, or West Virginia, and more than twice that in many of the Southern States 
of the Union, notwithstanding the fact that this island is densely populated and that 
all of the schools maintained had a large enrollment. But this money was so inju- 
diciously expended that an intelligent American might travel through the island 
without knowing that a public-school system existed; that few pupils at present in 
the schools can do practical problems in fractions or feel at home in long division. 
And, finally, this money has not provided a single public-school building in Puerto 
Rico, has not equipped a single room with modern school furniture or conveniences, 
has not provided the least vestige of the material basis — of the machinery — for a 
public-school system. The educational plant and the system itself are yet to be 
created. 

(5) I would further call your attention to the fact that there is little disposition 
on the part of the local authorities, who under the present system of government rep- 
resent the people, to incur voluntary sacrifices or additional local taxation for the 
support of the schools. In April of the present year it was announced that the sala- 
ries of public-school teachers of this island would be paid by the state, or, in other 
words, that a large appropriation would be made from the insular revenues for the 
support of the common schools. This was immediately followed by the curtailment 
of taxes for public education by the local authorities, despite the fact that the school 
facilities in every town of this island are exceedingly inadequate; that there has not 
been a, single country school open to girls, and that two barrios out of every three 
are without school accommodation. Up to date not a single public school has been 
opened in this island through the voluntary effort of any municipality. 

Respectfully submitted. 

Victor S. Clark, 
President of Insular Board of Education. 
San Juan, P. R. , September 29, 1899. 



REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 165 

San Juan, P. R., September 22, 1899. 
Gen. George W. Davis, Commanding. 

Sir: I have the honor to submit the following report upon the public schools of 
this island: 

I. 

SCHOOL ADMINISTRATION .AND INSPECTION. 

Under the autonomous government that preceded the American occupation there 
was a cabinet minister whose title was "secretary of public instruction," who had 
charge of primary, secondary, and superior education, and the granting of copyrights. 
This officer was assisted in administrative work by a provincial board of education 
and by local boards of education in each municipality. The local boards reported 
to the provincial board and had general supervision over school buildings, the con- 
duct of teachers and pupils, and the progress made and the studies pursued in the 
schools themselves. The local juntas could name auxiliary commissions to inspect 
the schools of the different barrios of their respective jurisdictions. The island was 
divided into two districts of inspection — a district of the north and a district of the 
south — each under an inspector, whose duty it was to inform the government upon 
the condition of schools; to see that local boards and commissions performed their 
duties strictly; that teachers were paid; that the proper appropriations were made 
in local budgets for the support of schools. The inspector presided at meetings of 
local boards whenever he was present and made monthly reports of his work to the 
government. 

Upon the reorganization of the cabinet, after the American occupation, the secre- 
taryship of education was suppressed and its functions became the charge of the 
department of the interior. In January, 1899, Gen. John Eaton, formerly United 
States Commissioner of Education, was called to Puerto Rico, by order of Gen. Guy 
V. Henry, commanding, to take charge of this bureau. He found the schools in the 
island much demoralized, and the affairs of the bureau itself in great confusion. 
Shortly after his arrival, public charities, including the orphan asylum and the 
insane asylum, were placed in his care, as well as education. The bureau was 
reorganized, the office force reduced, and the expense of administration lessened 
somewhat. The regular inspection of the schools had ceased and the provincial 
junta was no longer in existence. There was an urgent demand from all sides that 
the children in the schools should have an opportunity to learn the English language. 
With these considerations in view, in March, 1899, he recommended to Gen. Guy V. 
Henry, commanding, that 16 supervisors be appointed, who should be persons 
competent to give instruction in the English language, and who should be stationed 
at 16 of the larger towns of the island. His recommendation was approved. These 
supervisors act both as inspectors and as teachers. They have held teachers' meet- 
ings, giving English instruction to teachers, and have taught English classes in the 
public schools. The average number of schools in each district has been 35, but as 
they were widely scattered and separated by almost impassable country, tours of 
inspection have not been made, as a rule, oftener than once a month. 

Upon the resignation of General Eaton, the last of May, 1899, his assistant, Victor 
S. Clark, was placed at the head of the bureau as acting director of public instruction. 
Upon July 8, 1899, General Orders, No. 93, issued by command of Gen. George W. 
Davis, commanding, upon recommendation of the acting director of public instruction, 
created an insular board of education, of five members, who were to act in a general 
advisory and superintending capacity over the educational interests of the island, 
taking the place of the bureau of education, which thereupon ceased to exist. The 
president of the board acts as insular superintendent, and the officers of the board 
are the cashier and disbursing officer, under bond, who disburses the insular educa- 
tional appropriations, and the secretary. Through the creation of this board the 
expense of educational administration was reduced to about one-third what it was 
under Spanish rule. The members and officers of the board are as follows: Victor S. 
Clark, president; George G. Groff, Jose Saldafia, Henry Huyke, R. H. Todd. 

Officers of the board. — Victor S. Clark, president and insular superintendent; H. B. 
Wiborg, cashier and United States disbursing officer; Enrique Hernandez, secretary. 

Inspection is still in the hands of English supervisors. Their functions at present 
are as follows: 

(1) To visit each school of their district at least once a month, rendering a report 
upon Government blanks under the following heads: (a) Enrollment; (b) Teachers; 
(c) Books and supplies; (d) School buildings and grounds; (e) School programme; 



166 REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 

(/) Progress in studies; and a special examination and report wherever a school is 
upposed to have fallen below grade. 

(2) To distribute the salary checks to public-school teachers, cashing them when 
necessary at the nearest bank in town. This is rendered necessary on account of the 
poor exchange facilities of the island. 

(3) To act as advisory members of the local school boards. 

(4) To secure proper buildings for public-school purposes. 

(5) To distribute and keep account of text-books and school supplies owned by the 
insular government. 

(6) To hold teachers' meetings and to give instruction in English in rural schools. 

(7) To preside at the quarterly written examinations for teachers held at the heads 
of their respective districts. 

All of the supervisors are of American or English parentage, and are familiar with 
the American school system. Of the sixteen supervisors, ten are college graduates, 
two are normal-school graduates, and the others are graduates of public schools and 
high schools of standing. 

The board of education issues a monthly bulletin to teachers containing a programme 
Of the course of study and outlines for general lessons, nature study, and kindred sub- 
jects. It controls or authorizes the purchase of text-books and school supplies for 
the whole island. It issues and authorizes courses of study for primary and secondary 
schools. It recommends school legislation, and when necessary interferes to secure 
the discharge of incompetent teachers and impartial elections by local school boards. 
Hitherto the local boards of education have been appointed by an administrative 
officer of the central government, or by the board of education. By a general order, 
just issued, five school trustees will be elected in each municipality at the regular 
municipal elections, who will supersede the present local boards. 

II. 

HIGHER AND SECONDARY INSTRUCTION. 

No university or institution for higher learning existed in the island of Puerto 
Eico at the time of the American occupation. There are no young people in the 
island, except the children of a few of the wealthiest Puerto Rican families, who are 
qualified to enter an institution of collegiate grade. Those who are qualified to do 
so possess the means, and generally have the inclination, to pursue their advanced 
studies in the United States or Europe. 

There existed at San Juan an institute of secondary instruction. The requirements 
for admission were very low. Even the simple subjects of orthography and gram- 
mar, and those branches of arithmetic taught in the sixth and seventh years of the 
American school course, were not familiar to many of the students. Instruction was 
given entirely by lectures; no text-books were used. There was no building, and 
though there was an elaborate equipment of scientific apparatus at the time it was 
taken charge of by the present school authorities, it was so badly damaged as to be 
useless for practical experimental work. The character of the apparatus shows that 
the laboratory method had never been followed in teaching the sciences. The insti- 
tute possessed a library of some 6,000 volumes. Courses were offered in Latin, Span- 
ish, natural science, mathematics, metaphysics, and after the union of the boys' nor- 
mal school with the institute courses for teachers were also given. Sixty pupils 
were in actual attendance at this school, ranging from 14 to 18 years of age. The 
school granted the degree of bachelor of arts to its graduates. 

Frequent complaints were made to General Eaton, when he took charge of educa- 
tional affairs in Puerto Rico, by American educators and other competent critics who 
had visited the school, that it was an unnecessary expense to the insular govern- 
ment, especially when but a small portion of the population was provided with facil- 
ities for learning to read and write. The salaries of the professors were $1,500 a year, 
currency of the United States, and but one professor taught more than one hour a 
day. Teaching was by lectures, and the classes seldom numbered over five or six. 
The pupils gave very little evidence of ever having mastered even the simplest prin- 
ciples of the subjects they were supposed to study. Upon a report of a special com- 
mission appointed to investigate this institution, consisting of Americans and Puerto 
Ricans and including men of experience in educational affairs in the United States 
and in Europe, the institute was suspended at the close of the scholastic year, in 
June, 1899. 

Connected with the orphan asylum was an industrial school for the special benefit 
of the orphan children, but also giving some courses opened to applicants outside that 



REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 167 

institution. This school has not been opened since the American occupation, and the 
plant was destroyed by fire the last of June, 1899. 

The following provisions have been made for the continuation of secondary instruc- 
tion in the island of Puerto Rico: 

(1) In order to secure the completion of primary education before entering second- 
ary schools, uniform examinations are given in writing at the heads of the sixteen 
supervising districts of the island. These examinations are similar to those given by 
the board of regents of the State of New York, or the State high-school board of the 
State of Minnesota, but are, as a rule, simpler, and are based upon the amount of 
work included in the text-books authorized for the primary schools. 

(2) A course of study has been planned containing four or six years' work, and 
intended to prepare students for admission to colleges and universities of standing in 
the United States. This course includes the four years' course in Spanish, English, 
algebra, plane and solid geometry, plane trigonometry, chemistry, physics, botany, 
physical geography, history, a four years' course in Latin, and a two years' course in 
Greek. 

(3) There was opened at San Juan, September 25, 1899, a model training school 
under American teachers. This school is in temporary quarters but will soon occupy 
a cheap wooden building erected especially for it in the outskirts of the city of San 
Juan. The text-books are English; the teachers speak both English and Spanish, 
but are Americans, and instruction is given entirely in English. The school consists 
of five grades, a kindergarten, a primary grade, an intermediate grade, a grammar 
grade, and a high school. American children and Puerto Rican children able to 
pursue the work in English are admitted to this school. It will also be open to 
exceptionally bright young people of Puerto Rican parentage between the ages of 16 
and 20 who desire to follow the profession of teaching. Its present temporary 
quarters are overcrowded. 

Attached to the school will be a school of sloyd, under Miss Jennie Ericson, for- 
merly director of sloid at the Carlisle Indian school, a chemical laboratory, which 
will also give_ courses in pharmaceutical chemistry, under Dr. Berkley, of Johns Hop- 
kins, and a biological laboratory, which will also give instruction in the pharmacy 
courses of that subject. 

In addition to this school, which is actually in session, the board of education has 
published an offer of $20,000 annual appropriation to the town in the island providing 
a like amount for site and buildings for an industrial and normal school. The city 
of Fajardo has complied with this offer and it is hoped that a school, planned upon 
the same general lines as the Atlanta University, the Hampton University, and the 
Carlisle Indian School, with a normal department and a department of scientific 
horticulture and agriculture, will be opened by the spring of 1900, and possibly 
earlier. 

III. 

PRIMARY EDUCATION. 

The most important point of this report deals with primary education. Under 
the Spanish law there was established in this island a system of rural (or hamlet) 
and town schools. The town schools are known as elementary or superior. There 
was strictly no educational plant, if we may use this term as indicating school 
grounds, houses, furniture, and books. The schools were held in the residences of 
the teachers, the municipality allowing each teacher a slight sum for house rent in 
addition to his salary. In but one town of the island have I discovered modern 
school seats with desks. As a rule, the children either owned chairs or sat upon 
wooden benches without backs or desks. In this respect all the schools of the 
island were practically equal. 

_ In the elementary schools the courses were as follows: Spanish grammar, arithme- 
tic, sacred history, reading and writing, and geography. Boys were also taught 
notions of agriculture, and girls embroidery and fine needlework. In superior 
schools, arithmetic was continued through the decimal system, and geometry, draw- 
ing, physics, and natural history were studied. Provision was also made for schools for 
adults. As a matter of fact, the instruction in all the schools was about the same, 
except so far as individual qualifications of the teacher made one superior to the 
other. In the superior schools of San Juan there were children 6 and 7 years old, 
and in few of the schools at the close of the school year of 1899 were there classes 
that could readily do a difficult problem in long division. 



168 



REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 



The following is an enumeration by municipalities of the primary schools of the 
island at the close of the last school year, June, 1899: 



Municipalities. 



Total 
popula- 
tion. 



Num- 
ber of 
town 

schools. 



Num- 
ber of 
barrios 

with 
schools. 



Num- 
ber of 

barrios 
with- 
out 

schools. 



Num- 
ber of 
boys 
from 
4 to 16 
years 
of age. 



Num- 
ber of 
girls 
from 
4 to 16 
years 
of age. 



Num- 
ber of 
boys 
en- 
rolled. 



Num- 
ber of ! Total 
girls 
en- 
rolled 



Adjuntas 

Aguada 

Aguadilla 

Aguas Buenas . 

Aibonito 

Afiasco 

Areeibo 

Arroyo 

Barceloneta ... 
Barranquitas . . 

Barros' 

Bayamon 

Cabo Rojo 

Caguas 

Cftmuy 

Capital 

Carolina 

Cayey 

dales 

Cidra 

Coamo 

Oomerio 

Corozal 

Dorado 

Fajardo.- 

Guayama 

Guayanilla 

Gurabo 

Hatillo 

Hato Grande . . 
Hormigueros . . 

Humacao 

Isabela 

Juana Diaz 

Juncos 

Lajas 

-Lares 

Las Marias 

Loiza 

Manati 

Maricao 

Maunabo 

Mayaguez 

Moca 

Morovis 

Naguabo 

Naranjito 

Patillas 

Penuelas 

Piedras , 

Ponce 

Quebradillas ... 

Rincon 

Rio Grande 

Rio Piedras 

Sabana Grande . 

Salinas 

San German 

San Sebastian . . 

Santa Isabel 

Toa Alta 

Toa Baja 

TrujilloAlto.... 

Utuado 

Vega Alta , 

Vega Baja 

Vieques 

Yabucoa , 

Yauco 

Culebra Island . 

Total 



18,009 

10, 062 

15,884 

8,123 

7,026 

13, 080 

34,216 

4,832 

8,000 

7,775 

13,190 

15, 167 

15, 667 

17, 786 

9,853 

31,435 

11,878 

14, 017 

18,000 

6,834 

13, 188 

8, 229 

10,688 

3,500 

16, 425 

3,584 

8,640 

8,110 

9,502 

12, 877 

3,273 

13, 463 

13, 922 

24,042 

7, 602 

8,125 

22, 065 

11, 368 

10, 278 

12, 631 

7,872 

5,902 

37, 983 

12, 305 

11, 037 

9,872 

7,634 

11, 100 

11,646 

8,010 

49,000 

6,335 

6,125 

12, 258 

11,978 

10,087 

4,912 

19, 802 

16, 162 

4,257 

7,687 

3,648 

4, 115 

4,232 

6,038 

9,394 

5,745 

12. 416 

27, 025 

737 



857, 660 



313 



3,485 

2,003 

2,637 

1,622 

1,481 

2,339 

6,100 

500 

812 

1,577 

2,200 

2,539 

3,124 

3,124 

1,862 

4,397 

3,920 

2,507 

2,878 

639 

2,038 

1,123 

2,307 

609 

3, 672 

2, 332 

1,701 

1,524 

1,033 

2,384 

515 

2,523 

1, 220 

4,576 

1,181 

916 

3,787 

2,245 

2,051 

2,106 

1,290 

1,232 

5,286 

2,000 

1,630 

1,804 

1,187 

2,900 

2,254 

1,214 

7,030 

736 

1,300 

2,363 

2,181 

1,862 

993 

3,463 

1,465 

386 

667 

752 

837 

8, 6U9 

1,151 

750 

728 

2,123 

5,074 

135 



3,238 
1,892 
2,539 
1,465 
1,407 
2,204 
6,300 

598 

671 
1,456 
2,528 
2,360 
2, 842 
2,906 
1,693 
7,198 
2,776 
2,287 
3,102 

548 
1,789 
1,050 
2,155 

604 
3,496 
2,301 
1,556 
1,329 
1,152 
2,281 

474 
2,067 

986 
4,167 
1,032 

900 
3,907 
1,950 
1,955 
2, 033 
1,220 
1,191 
4,755 
2,136 
1,845 
2,049 
1,209 
1,800 
1,850 
1,235 
6,690 

697 
1,178 
2,162 
2,014 
1,784 

901 
3,355 
1,182 

367 

697 

678 

702 
6,621 
1,084 

829 

703 
1,863 
4,743 

127 



426 152,951 144,851 



184 
221 
336 
149 
223 
223 
709 
145 
249 
196 
184 
354 
380 
346 
221 
838 
192 
531 
227 
175 
550 
411 
215 

90 
465 
375 
146 
198 
151 
291 

60 
321 
241 
427 
209 
162 
324 
162 
216 
359 
178 
126 
1,137 
106 
323 
195 
140 
227 
222 

88 
1,345 
234 
103 
272 
378 
227 
116 
400 
356 
193 
112 
130 

96 
276 
196 
247 
137 
252 
636 




52 

213 

124 

173 

41 

642 

110 

234 

104 

68 

120 

74 

62 

85 

244 

150 

88 

60 

40 

94 

32 

177 

83 

191 

77 

47 

127 

15 

75 

211 

60 

68 

745 

40 

54 

153 

80 

73 

160 

44 

812 

41 

21 

118 

81 

85 

70 

352 

92 

124 

•55 

78 

32 

120 

45 

147 

117 

198 

362 



19,804 | 9,378 



28, 182 



REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 



169 



Municipalities. 



Num- 
ber of 
boys at- 
tend- 
ing. 



Num- 
ber of 
girls at- 
tend- 
ing. 



Total 
attend- 
ance. 



Total 
children 
without 
school 
facili- 
ties. 



Adjuntas 

Aguada 

Aguadilla 

Aguas Buenas 

Aibonito 

Anaseo 

Arecibo 

Arroyo 

Barceloneta 

Barranquitas.., 

Barros 

Bayamon 

Cabo Rojo 

Caguas 

Camuy 

Capital 

Carolina 

Cayey 

Ciales 

Cidra 

Coamo 

Comerio 

Corozal 

Dorado 

Fajardo 

Guayama 

Guayanilla 

Gurabo 

Hatillo 

Hato Grande... 
Hermigueros... 

Humacao 

Isabela 

JuanaDiaz 

Juncos 

Lajas 

Lares 

Las Marias 

Loiza 

Manati 

Maricao 

Maunabo 

Mayaguez 

Moca 

Morovis 

Naguabo 

Naranjito 

Patillas 

Penuelas 

Piedras 

Ponce 

Quebradillas . . . 

Rincon 

Rio Grande 

Rio Piedras 

Sabana Grande 

Salinas 

San German . . . 
San Sebastian.. 
Santa Isabel . . . 

Toa Alta 

Toa Baja 

Trujillo Alto... 

Utuado 

Vega Alta 

Vega Baja 

Vieques 

Yabueoa 

Yauco 

Culebra Island. 



Total. 



105 
180 
336 
117 
156 
160 
493 
145 
149 
143 
143 
280 
240 



128 
380 
180 
128 
393 
266 
161 

51 
396 
275 

98 
198 
151 
150 

43 
268 
170 
294 
151 

79 
197 
112 
159 
257 

81 

97 
743 
106 
214 
162 
100 
177 
148 

65 
,128 
234 

61 
258 
229 
150 

71 
292 
256 I 
135 I 
112 i 
115 i 

78 
194 
162 
180 

95 
252 
407 



25 

52 

206 

58 

66 

155 

190 

56 

81 



38 

188 

85 

134 

31 

485 

90 

193 

65 

56 

91 

65 

50 

68 

201 

116 

59 

60 

40 

80 

25 

143 

55 

181 

64 

20 

56 

13 

60 

151 

38 

53 

435 

40 

45 

110 

52 

55 

115 

40 

620 

40 

13 

98 

65 

60 

47 

298 

70 

93 

55 

69 

25 

68 

30 

123 

71 

198 

275 



14, 720 



7,153 



130 
232 
542 
175 
222 
315 
683 
201 
230 
143 
181 
468 
325 
417 
206 
1,113 
218 
573 
245 
184 
484 
331 
211 
119 
597 
391 
157 
258 
191 
230 
68 
411 
225 
475 
215 
99 
253 
125 
219 
408 
119 
150 
1,178 
146 
259 
272 
152 
232 
263 
105 
1,748 
274 
74 
356 
294 
210 
118 
590 
326 
228 
167 
184 
103 
262 
192 
303 
166 
450 
682 



21,873 



6,483 
3,612 
4,634 
2,863 
2,585 
4,130 
11, 425 
897 
1,087 
2,837 
4,492 
4,332 
5,462 
5,511 
3,293 
10, 115 
6,394 
4,029 
5,649 
944 
3,157 
1,688 
4,185 
1,038 
6,459 
4,108 
3,023 
2,595 
1,994 
4,280 
897 
4,092 
1,882 
8,125 
1,927 
1,607 
7,243 
4,018 
3,715 
3,569 
2,272 
2,229 
8,159 
3,990 
3,098 
3,505 
2,176 
4,400 
3,722 
2,317 

11, 563 
1,158 
2,354 
4,135 
3,736 
3,334 
708 
6,066 
2,199 
436 
1,197 
1,222 
1,411 

14, 894 
1,994 
1,185 
1, 177 
3,536 
8,819 
262 



Salaries 

of 

teachers 

(gold). 



268, 630 



$1,404.00 
1, 512. 00 
1,296.00 
1,296.00 
1,476.00 
2, 150. 40 
4, 044. 00 

957. 60 
1,440.00 
1,080.00 
1, 116. 00 
2, 286. 00 
2, 268. 00 
2, 520. 00 
1, 188. 00 
9,912.00 

768.00 
2, 304. 00 
1, 812. 00 
1,188.00 
1,980.00 
1, 317. 60 
1, 260. 00 

972. 00 
3, 996. 00 
3, 216. 00 
1, 127. 40 
1,116.00 
1, 332. 00 
1,620,00 

756.00 
3,288.00 
1,692.00 
3, 882. 20 
1, 692. 00 
1,296.00 
2, 160. 00 
1, 440. 00 
1,512.00 
2, 160. 00 
1,080.00 
1, 044. 00 
10, 762. 80 
1,368.00 
1,296.00 
1, 416. 00 
1,296.00 
1, 476. 00 
1, 692. 00 

720. 00 
11,772.00 
1,008.00 
1, 116. 00 
1,728.00 
1,548.00 
1,260.00 I 

720.00 I 
3,204.00 
2,160.00 j 
1,404.00 j 

936.00 
1,888.00 I 
936.00 ; 
1,528.00 
1,116.00 i 
2,088.00 I 
1,584.00 J 
1,980.00 ! 
4,010.00 I 



House School 
rent supplies 
(gold). (gold). 



$294. 00 
180.00 
432.00 
302. 40 
309. 60 
374. 40 
964. 80 
216. 00 
347. 40 
144.00 
316. 80 
518.40 
259. 20 
547.20 
259. 20 
4, 056. 00 
381.60 
720.00 
324. 00 
64.80 
482.40 
158.40 
244.80 
172. 80 
674. 40 
669.60 
316. 80 
79.20 
94.00 
396. 00 
180.00 
842. 40 
277. 20 
849.00 
214. 40 
230. 40 
475. 20 
417. 60 
201. 60 
561. 60 
309. 60 
158. 40 
2,510.40 
145.20 
208. 80 
339. 60 
211. 20 
172. 80 
324. 00 
142. 80 
6,202.39 
144.00 
144.00 
288.00 
288.00 
302.40 
257. 20 
576.00 
172. 80 
316. 80 
129. 60 
180.00 
136. 80 
288. 00 
43. 20 
403. 20 
259. 20 
626. 40 
1, 094. 40 



$286. 80 
.172. 80 
192. 60 
241. 20 
360. 00 
297. 60 
792.00 
120.00 
201. 60 
142.20 
207. 60 
254.40 
221. 40 
385.20 
195.00 

1,632.00 
208. 80 
487. 20 
312. 60 
192. 00 
397. 20 
152. 40 
351. 60 
179. 40 
402.60 
558.00 
327. 60 
144.60 
208.00 
211.00 
30.00 
480.60 
256.80 
685.00 
259. 80 
109. 20 
538.80 
406.20 
185.40 
360. 00 
192. 00 
157. 20 

1, 702. 80 
145.80 
264. 60 
157.20 
259. 20 
333.00 
300.00 
84.00 

2, 948. 00 

126. 00 

85,00 

224. 00 

251.40 

309. 00 

198.00 

488. 40 

269. 40 

318.00 

84.60 

84.60 

66.60 

490.00 

135.00 

457. 80 

216.00 

413. 40 

870.00 



Total 

school 

expense. 



$1, 984. 80 
1, 864. 80 
1, 920. 60 
1, 839. 60 
2, 145. £0 
2, 822. 4.0 
5, 800. 80 
1,293.60 
1,989.00 
1,366.20 
1,640.40 
3,058.80 
2, 748. 60 
3, 452. 40 
1,642.20 
15, 600. 00 
1,358.40 
3, 511. 20 
2, 448. 60 
1,444.80 
2,859.60 
1 ,,628. 40 
1,856.40 
1,324.20 
5,073.00 
4,443.60 
1,771.80 
1,339.80 
1, 634. 00 
2, 227. 00 
966.00 
4, 611. CO 
2,226.00 
5,416.20 
2, 166. 20 
1,635.60 
3, 174. 00 
2,263.80 
1,899.00 
3, 081. 60 
1,581.60 
1,359.60 
14, 976. 00 
1,659.00 
1,769.40 
1,912.80 
1,766.40 
1,981.80 
2, 316. 00 
946. 80 
20,922.39 
1,278.00 
1, 345. 00 
2, 240. 00 
2, 087. 40 
1,871.40 
1,175.20 
4,268.40 
2,602.20 
2,038.80 
1, 150, 20 
1,452.60 
1,139.40 
2, 306. 00 
1,294.20 
2, 949. 00 
2,059.20 
3, 019. 80 
5, 974. 40 



143,670.00 34,924.90 24,778.20 1203,372.99 



General Eaton, in the school legislation recommended by him and authorized as 
the school laws of Puerto Rico by Gen. Guy V. Henrv, commanding, May 1, 1899, 
abolished the old classification of schools and of teachers' "titles and substituted for them 
a system similar to that found in the States. Under this system primary schools are 
known as either graded schools or rural schools. It is made a rigid requirement that 



170 REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 

the school building and the residence of the teacher shall be separate. This has 
been found necessary for reasons of discipline, for sanitary and hygienic reasons, and 
because in many cases the teacher subordinated his school entirely to his domestic 
demands. We visited school during school hours and found the teacher in bed taking 
a siesta; other teachers were away attending store; in another case we found a teacher 
who was running a rum shop. Teachers went around the schoolroom in untidy and 
insufficient attire, and the demands of neighborhood callers upon the time of the 
teacher left her less than the required amount of time for instructing the pupils. 

Through the English supervisors each building has been inspected, and schools this 
year will be housed entirely apart from the residences. In towns and villages, so far 
as possible, the schools are grouped into one building and a very simple system of 
gradation is attempted. In many instances a town does not contain a building large 
enough to afford two or three schoolrooms under the same roof, and in these cases the 
schools have to remain separate. In every municipality an American teacher is pro- 
vided. It is intended that she shall take charge of the primary grade, or youngest chil- 
dren, teaching them as a model grade one-half the day, or for two short sessions in 
the morning and afternoon, and giving English instruction in the two or three other 
grades of the school during the rest of the school hours. The primary grades are 
supposed to be coeducational. The question of coeducation in the upper grades is 
left to the discretion of local boards. Heretofore there have been no rural schools 
for girls. The new law requires that girls shall be admitted to rural schools, making 
them coeducational where special schools are not provided for both sexes. 

The Saturday holiday has been created and also a summer vacation of three 
months, both of which were unknown under the Spanish system. The course of 
study includes English, Spanish, arithmetic in Spanish and in English, geography in 
Spanish. History of the United States is made a part of the English reading course. 
Nature study, calisthenics, hygiene, drawing, and music are all provided for where 
the teachers are competent to give instruction in these subjects. A monthly bulletin, 
containing information and syllabi of lessons for teachers, is published by authority 
of the insular board of education and distributed free to all the schools. A teachers' 
manual, containing chapters upon school buildings and grounds, adornment and care 
of the schoolroom, primary education, secondary education, supply of teachers, and 
duties of school officials, and containing a list of books recommended for reading, is 
in course of preparation. A Spanish edition of Sarah Arnold's "Waymarks for 
teachers" will be placed in every school. Hitherto there were practically no text- 
books in use. In some rural schools the only books were those used by the teacher. 
In some towns, out of 70 pupils in the schoolroom, but 6 or 7 had books. The insular 
board of education has purchased reading charts in Spanish and English, Spanish and 
English readers, arithmetics in both Spanish and English, a Spanish edition of Frye's 
Geography, language books in Spanish and English, and United States primary his- 
tories for all the schools of the island. Through the courtesy of the Department of 
the Interior large maps of the United States have been placed in every school, and 
through the generosity of the Lafayette Post, of New York, nearly every schoolhouse 
in the island is provided with an American flag. 

Teachers formerly labored under great disadvantage through being obliged to 
admit an unwieldy number of pupils; the enrollment in some schools was as high as 
125 pupils, though the attendance was much less than that number. The attendance 
has been very irregular indeed. Under the present system each teacher will receive 
but 50 pupils in her school. This may make necessary half sessions, as but about 
one-seventh of the school population is provided for, but it is thought this is better, 
than to have the teacher's efforts practically nullified by the crowded condition of 
her room. In San Juan itself our English supervisor reported 70 pupils seated on a 
hot day in a room 23 by 10 feet. 

Among the institutions which should be mentioned in a report upon primary edu- 
cation is the American school at Ponce. This school was started and supported last 
year by a private society in that city. The salaries of the teachers are now paid by 
the state. It was the only school were grading and instruction in accordance with 
the American system was attempted in the island last year. The teachers reported 
it very difficult to secure the attention of pupils; they did not know how to study 
during study periods or how to use books. The habits and orders of discipline' in 
the schoolroom to which American teachers are accustomed had to be inculcated 
gradually and at a great expense of time and effort. The pupils were reported to be 
apt — quicker probably than Northern children in learning the rudiments of a sub- 
ject. It is yet to be learned whether the children of the middle and lower social 
classes will show equal ability in mastering American graded and higher subjects. 
The children from the better families, however, possess quite as much intellectual 
ability as is found in children of the same class in the States. 



REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 171 

SUPPLY OF TEACHERS. 

Under the Spanish law five titles or grades of certificates were recognized — rural, 
auxiliary, elementary, superior, and normal. Teaching was looked upon as a status 
rather than an employment. The teacher acquired certain legal rights in his school 
which prevented his dismissal except under the most serious charges, and made it 
difficult even then. This was called the right of propriety. A school held in pro- 
priety was, in a certain sense, the property of the teacher. The system was thoroughly 
pernicious, though it was doubtless created to protect teachers against the arbitrary 
removal for political reasons which were the curse of the educational system under 
the Spanish Government. The system was deadening to a professional spirit. The 
idea of the teacher as a member of a professional rather than of a social or bureaucratic 
class seems not to have been awakened. The whole body of teachers became a sort of 
a bureaucracy — a teacher was first of all a politician and an officeholder. A school 
was acquired in propriety through competitive examinations, appointment being 
governed somewhat by the term of service of the teacher; if the school ceased to 
exist for any reason, the teacher continued to receive one-half his salary from the 
municipality and had a right to the first vacancy occurring in the school system for 
which his title qualified him. Schools not held in propriety were said to be held tempo- 
rarily, i. e., until they could be provided for in propriety through suitable examina- 
tions. At the close of the last school year about two-thirds of the schools of the island 
were held in propriety, the remainder having been filled temporarily. This large 
number of temporary appointments was due in part to the effects of the war and the 
vacancies occasioned by the return of the Spanish teachers to the Peninsula. The 
various grades of certificates were secured through written and oral examinations. It 
was also claimed that many of them were secured through political influence. As it 
was charged that there were many illegal certificates in the island and many that were 
granted to unqualified persons, for the purpose of securing a thorough examination 
of the documents held by each teacher, new certificates, graded as rural, graded 
school, and principal's certificates, were granted by the insular educational authorities. 
Teachers holding superior titles under the old law were given principal's certificates, 
valid for five years; teachers holding elementary titles were granted graded-school 
certificates, qualifying them to teach in graded schools for the same length of time; 
teachers holding rural or auxiliary titles were in the same manner granted rural cer- 
tificates. Up to date 757 teachers have received new certificates under this ruling. 
That many of these teachers would not be qualified to teach in American schools can 
hardly be doubted, but it has been thought best that where incompetent teachers 
possess titles they should be allowed to demonstrate this fact in the schoolroom itself, 
their removal being a matter entirely at the discretion of the insular board of educa- 
tion and easily accomplished in case of unfavorable reports from the supervisors. 

To show how far below the standard to which we are accustomed they fall in many 
subjects, it may be stated that in the July examinations there were teachers holding 
superior titles- who received less than 25 per cent in an examination upon universal 
geography, given to seventh-grade pupils of the States, the questions being translated 
verbatim into Spanish, and all questions pertaining strictly to local geography of the 
United States being omitted and questions relating to Puerto Rico substituted for 
them. In the examination in United States history 50 per cent out of the 65 per cent 
required for passing could be gained upon two questions relating to the voyages of 
Columbus, the Spanish-American war, and the recent political changes in this island, 
and yet out of 41 examinees but 30 secured the required 65 per cent, 

In arithmetic the lack of practical knowledge of the subject was still more apparent. 
There were 139 examinees, of whom but 4 secured the 65 per cent. In geography, 
out of 137 examinees 48 secured the required per cent. The questions were taken 
verbatim from a set of questions given to candidates for admission to the high schools 
of the State of Minnesota. One or two intricate problems in the examination in 
arithmetic were modified and metric measurements substituted for English measure- 
ments. While the applicants could repeat rules in Spanish grammar, more than 50 
per cent failed in the examination in Spanish grammar, which consisted of the anal- 
ysis and parsing of the principal words of a continuous extract of prose of about 10 
lines. These teachers are qualified, however, to teach all that they will be required 
to teach in the schools of Puerto Rico for two or three years to come, and during 
that time, with modern text-books and other school facilities, it is expected that the 
majority of the younger ones will be able to continue the work in higher grades. A 
large per cent of the teachers are very old — in fact, superannuated. When a man 
became useless for anything else it was frequently customary to assign him a position 
as a school-teacher. We have received applications in our office for appointments, 
where the chief qualification cited was the fact that the teacher was physically inca- 



172 REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 

pacitated for doing anything else. The school board of the city of Guayania has 
recently appointed a man 72 years of age, with defective sight and hearing, and who 
received but 25 per cent in the recent examination in geography, principal of their 
schools. This is one of the largest and most important towns of the island, and this 
fact shows how different a position toward public schools is taken by local school 
authorities here than is taken in the States. 

The provisions for the professional training of teachers in Puerto Rico under 
Spanish rule consisted of a boys' normal school, which was later united to the sec- 
ondary institute at San Juan, and a girls' normal school in the same city. There 
were about 50 pupils in attendance at the girls' normal. Theoretically, there was 
practice teaching and there were the so-called superior schools, one for boys and one 
for girls, in the city for this purpose. The instruction in the normal was chiefly in 
academic subjects, and the girls' normal was probably the most efficient institution 
of learning in the island, though it fell far below what we should expect of a good 
graded school in the States, both in the way of methods of instruction and of disci- 
pline. Graduates of the normal school received elementary school titles. This 
school was suspended upon the recommendation of a special commission appointed 
to investigate it, in June, 1899. The provision made for the training of teachers in 
the future is in brief as follows: 

(1) A summer school and institute conducted by three ladies who were experienced 
public school-teachers of the States and who speak Spanish has been held in San 
Juan. There has been practice teaching and instruction in American school 
branches. Part of the instruction was given by the former directress of the girls' 
normal school of this city. 

(2) In the industrial school, which it is expected will be located at Fajardo, there 
will be a normal -department, with model school teaching. 

(3) The model training school at San Juan, already mentioned, has been created 
with three purposes in view: 

(a) To provide a school in which the children of American and Puerto Rican 
parents can be educated, who would otherwise be sent to the States. It has been 
thought true economy that the money for the support and education of these children 
should be kept in the island, if possible. 

(b) To provide a concrete illustration of what the American graded school is, 
model school furniture will be purchased and model methods of teaching and of school 
organization and discipline, with the strict following of a programme and the systematic 
gradation of pupils introduced. It is also hoped through this school to set a stand- 
ard for primary and secondary instruction similar to that in the States. If Puerto 
Rico is a part of the United States her pupils will naturally look to the institutions 
of that country for their higher education, and unless the standard of higher instruc- 
tion in this island is made equal to that in the States, this is going to lead in the 
future to continual embarrassment and expense on the part of students and parents. 

(c) To provide training courses for teachers in a model school. It is hoped to 
place in this school only pupils recommended by the supervisors from the different 
parts of the island. Special courses will be given in Spanish and English; the teach- 
ers will observe the work in the American school and will do practice-teaching under 
the eyes of the supervisor in the public schools of San Juan and the orphan asylum. 

Our appropriations permit us to hold teachers' institutes at other towns of the 
island, and this will be done at intervals during the coming school year. 

(4) The introduction of the sixty or seventy normal-trained American teachers, 
teaching model grades in each community, will, it is hoped, assist in familiarizing 
the Puerto Rican teachers with the methods of school organization and discipline 
and teaching followed in the States. 

(5) As the supply of teachers is sufficient for the immediate needs of the island 
under our present appropriation, the board of education feels justified in admitting 
other teachers to the profession only upon strict examination, showing scholastic 
qualifications sufficient to enable them to teach all the subjects of the school course. 

The number of teachers employed in the primary schools of the island next year 
will be 620; the number of schools in the country will be the same as last year, with 
the exception of one additional school in the island of Culebra. Sixty-eight addi- 
tional teachers have been employed for town schools. These are the American 
teachers already mentioned. Of the teachers, 28 are principals, receiving a salary of 
$75 per month and house rent; 76 are grade teachers, receiving $50 per month, teach- 
ing schools in towns of over 5,000 inhabitants; 94 are grade teachers at a salary of 
$40 per month, teaching schools in towns of less than 5,000 inhabitants; 322 are rural 
teachers, who are employed at a salary of $30 per month. In all cases house rent is 
provided by the municipality. This varies from $20 gold in the city of San Juan to 
$1 gold in the rural districts, per month. The salaries given are United States cur- 
rency. 



REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 173 

Under the Spanish law the salaries of teachers were as follows, in silver: 

Superior teachers from 700 to 900 pesos per annum, according to the size of the 
town. 

Elementary teachers 500 pesos for schools of first grade (in larger towns) ; 400 
pesos per annum in smaller towns; 600 pesos in the capital. 

Salaries in rural schools were $25 and $30 silver. The teacher received in addition 
tuition fees from his pupils. This was sometimes his only source of income, as munic- 
ipalities were extremely dilatory in paying public-school salaries, and at the present 
time are owing large amounts under this head. Out of 757 teachers holding certifi- 
cates in the island, 540 will be employed in the public schools the coming year. It 
is probable that of the 757 a number have no intention of entering the teaching pro- 
fession; others are incapacitated for doing so by reason of age, and there is doubtless 
included in this number a fair contingent of teachers of insufficient qualifications to 
engage in school work. Nearly all the teachers qualified under Spanish law for 
teaching and really competent to do so will receive employment. The American 
teachers employed will be as follows: Sixty-nine grade teachers in the municipalities; 
six teachers in the American school at Ponce, and eight teachers in the model graded 
school and teachers' training school at San Juan. 

In addition to these there will be 16 English supervisors. The salaries of the 
graded teachers and the teachers in the American graded school at Ponce are the 
same as those of Puerto Rican teachers. The salaries of the teachers of the training 
school at San Juan range from $700 to $1,200. Supervisors receive $900 per annum, 
but furnish their own transportation. 



SCHOOL MAINTENANCE. 

The source of support for the public schools of the island under the Spanish rule 
came under three heads — municipal taxation, insular appropriations, and tuition fees. 
The children of wealthy parents paid tuition fees. The sum of these fees amounted 
in the larger cities to about the equivalent of the teacher's salary, and as they were 
paid to the teacher direct, no account of them was rendered to the state. In smaller 
towns an estimate made by teachers is that these fees amounted to 60 per cent of the 
salaries; in rural schools to 15 per cent. A conservative estimate would place the 
contribution to the public-school system in the shape of fees at 25 per cent of the 
entire amount appropriated by direct taxation for the primary schools. It was the 
receipt of these fees apparently that made it possible for the teachers to maintain 
themselves when they were paid irregularly by the authorities, and that gave a pecul- 
iar meaning and value to the possession of a school in propriety. 

The following table gives a comparative estimate of the financial statistics bearing 
upon education. The comparison between the per cent of the total appropriations 
devoted to education in the last year of Spanish rule and the first year of American 
rule is particularly interesting. While the amount of taxation paid per capita was 
reduced from $5.23 to $3.09, the amount paid for the support of public schools per 
capita was increased from 32 to 40 cents. In estimating the per capita expense of 
educating the children in the public schools, the enrollment in secondary schools is 
assumed to have been 600. The "memoria" of the institute for the year 1896-97 
shows that there were 323 pupils either studying at that institution or pursuing home 
courses under its auspices. The enrollment in the normal schools and subsidized 
church schools would probably bring this number up to 600. The statistics in this 
table do not include the amount paid by pupils for fees. This was probably about 
$40,000 per annum, and represents so much additional tax upon the community. 

The cost of the public schools per capita per pupil enrolled has increased decidedly 
the present year. The abolition of fees was made the ground for increasing the sala- 
ries of teachers. This increase has been very large, especially in case of the rural 
schools, and it has been rendered still larger by the change of salaries from a silver 
to a gold basis. An increase of over $1 per capita is represented in the appropriation 
for the Fajardo normal and industrial school, which as yet is not in a position to 
receive students. One dollar per capita is accounted for by text-books, maps, and 
school supplies purchased directly by the insular government this year, which rep- 
resent a direct investment in the educational plant. 

One of the principal causes for the high per capita cost for educating children is 
the fact that there are no public schoolhouses, and that all of the buildings used for 
schools are now rented by local authorities at a rate that represents an exorbitant 
interest upon their actual value. However, the main fact still remains, that the cost 
of instruction is very high in relation to its actual value to the community, and this; 



174 



EEPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 



is a condition that it has not been in our power to obviate as yet. It is not that the 
salaries paid to teachers are too high, considering the cost of living in this island, but 
that the quality of service rendered does not represent an actual value equivalent to 
the compensation. The schools must be taken entirely out of politics, the standard 
for admission to the teaching profession raised, and the social conditions of the inte- 
rior communities made such that the schools will attract teachers of higher qualifica- 
cations before we can hope to educate children here as cheaply as we can in the 
States. 

Comparative statistics relating to school maintenance. 



Year 1890. 



Total State 
and local ex- 
penditure. 



Total State 
and local ex- 
penditure 
for public 
schools. 



Per cent 






of total 


Total 


Total 


expendi- 


taxation 


school 


ture de- 


per 


tax per 


voted to 


capita. 


capita. 


schools. 






19.2 


88.74 


$1.69 


36.1 


4.66 


1.68 


24.4 


7.84 


1.91 


20.4 


3.60 


.85 


13.7 


3.75 


.55 


6.2 


5.23 


.32 


12.1 


3.09 


.40 


24.4 


9.09 


2.24 



Cost of 
schools 
per pupil 
enrolled. 



Maine 

West Virginia 

Missouri 

Tennessee 

New Mexico.. 
Puerto Rico: 

1898-99 . . . 

1899-1900 . 
United States 



$5, 780, 108 
3, 550, 973 

21,011,260 

6, 364, 411 

576, 532 

4, 487, 922 

3, 373, 659 

569, 252, 634 



$1,114,902 

1,284,991 

5, 128, 260 

1, 300, 357 

79, 186 

279, 216 

413, 113 

139,065,537 



6.65 
8.27 
3.29 
4.66 

9.90 
13.38 
11.03 



The two most striking facts brought out by the preceding chapter are the small 
proportion of the total public expenditure under the Spanish regime that was devoted 
to public instruction, approximately one-fourth the average proportion in the States, 
and. the high cost per capita per pupil enrolled of the public schools. 

The first point is not entirely unanticipated. We have not been accustomed to 
look for a highly developed system of proper education in a Spanish-speaking country. 
The percentage of the public revenues devoted to education has been doubled in the 
first annual budget made out by an American governor. There still remains neces- 
sary, however, a large increase in the proportion of public taxes devoted to public 
schools. The per cent of the entire revenues of the island, insular and local, spent for 
public education, should be at least twice what it is even at the present time. The more 
striking fact, because more unanticipated, in considering the financial side of public 
education is, that to support a system so inferior to our own that even under its most 
favorable conditions it strikes us as almost an entire absence of educational facilities, 
the expense per capita for the pupils enrolled in the schools was greater than it was 
in the State of Maine, West Virginia, or Missouri; nearly as great as it was in the 
States of Delaware and Maryland, and more than twice as much as it was in the State 
of Arkansas or New Mexico. 

Evidently any reform in the public-school sytem must depend upon the correction 
of conditions that secure such imperfect results for such a large expenditure of 
money. Some of the weaknesses in the financial administration of the schools have 
already been touched upon, but they are so vital that it has seemed best to state 
them more fully. 

There is no special tax levied for school purposes. The school expenses are paid 
for out of a general fund created by massing together all the contributions of the 
municipality or of the insular government. As a result, the school expenses are 
provided for irregularly, and there is economic waste from an inability to calculate 
beforehand the time and promptness of payment. The credit of the municipalities, 
especially for its obligations in connection with education, is practically worthless. 
There should be a special tax levied specifically for school purposes in each munici- 
pality, and a special general tax in the whole island. The necessity of this general 
tax in Puerto Rico will be more fully discussed in the last part of this report, dealing 
with the sociological factors. However, the value of any reform in the system of 
taxation in Puerto Rico as a source of revenue for public schools and as a corrective of 
past abuses is dependent upon a thorough reform in the system of local government. 

Another source of waste in school expenditure arises from the fact that there are 
no school buildings. The expenditure for rent of buildings is much greater than the 
cost of interest and maintenance upon buildings constructed especially for educa- 
tional purposes. The waste of time and energy and health in the conduct of the 
schools resulting from improper quarters can not be estimated. 

It is sufficient to say that no good school system can be built up in Puerto Rico 
while schoolhouses and residences are connected, and while the school buildings are 



REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 175 

rented by the municipality. The obstacles in the way of the erection of school build- 
ings are partly financial and partly due to local customs. The principal financial obsta- 
cle is the fact that municipalities have no credit, and under the present government 
their uncertain political status makes it impossible for them to contract loans at any 
rate of interest. The other great obstacle lies in the apathy or interested opposition 
of local authorities. The apathy is due to the fact that few of the local educational 
authorities know anything of the advantages of the better system. On the other 
hand, many alcaldes and men of influence are interested in renting a building occu- 
pied by a school. At the present time there are municipalities in this island where 
schools can not be opened because the authorities refuse to rent suitable buildings 
that are vacant, waiting until they can repair their own buildings, injured in the 
recent cyclone, and lease them to the local authorities. 

To illustrate the lack of practical business sense that this system of renting build- 
ings shows, it may be stated that the appropriation for the rent of school buildings 
in San Juan for the coming economic year is $9,240, to accommodate 1,100 pupils. 
In other words, the expense of rent per pupil is larger than the entire cost of educa- 
tion in some States. This $9,240 would pay 6 per cent interest on over $150,000, 
which would probably provide especially constructed modern school buildings for the 
6,000 school children of the city. 

Municipal authorities should be authorized to contract loans, or a special tax should 
be levied for the express purpose of constructing and furnishing public-school 
buildings. 

(c) A third source of wasteful expenditure has been the employment of incompe- 
tent teachers and teachers who were more interested in business undertakings of 
various character than in their schools. It was not an uncommon occurrence to enter 
a school room and find the room in charge of an older pupil while the teacher was 
keeping store or attending to other outside private enterprises. This neglect of duty 
was not noticed or reported if the teacher happened to be a political favorite or a 
relative of the local authorities of the town. These defects can be remedied by the 
prompt removal of incompetent or negligent teachers from the schools, by maintain- 
ing a higher standard of admission to the teaching professsion, and bv providing 
proper means for the training of teachers. 

(d) Another source of waste closely connected with that preceding was defective 
organization of the schools. Promptness of attendance, regularity of attendance, 
systematic classification of pupils, and anything like a regular school programme were 
frequently unknown. Frequent holidays, occurring at any time during the school 
week, interfered with the regularity of the work. 

(e) The ratio of the expense of school administration to the entire expense of the 
schools was very high. This was in accordance with the general system of Spanish 
administration, which required a large number of expensive officials in all depart- 
ments, and is a fault that has been remedied since the American occupation. 

(/) In secondary and higher education the same lack of knowledge of practical 
economy, and of justifying expense by results, seems to have prevailed. For instance, 
the institute of secondary instruction, recently suspended, was an institution givin^ 
courses, as already indicated, in secondary branches. The two years' course in Latin 
did not place the pupils on a par with the average student at the close of the first 
semester of his course in a high school of the States. There was no reading of authors. 
It is impossible to speak with the same certainty of some of the other courses, but as a 
rule the practical results obtained were about equal to those in the classics. We judge 
this from the reports of students passing from the institute to colleges in the United 
States. While the number matriculated was reported large— due to the fact that there 
was a system of subordinate instruction in other towns of the island and a system of 
home study— there were probably never more than 100 in actual attendance. The 
expense of salaries for this school was approximately $20,000. The salary expense 
in the average State high school of the State of Minnesota of 100 to 125 pupils, would 
be approximately as follows: 

Principal, $1,000; assistant in the sciences, $800; assistant in English and history 
and perhaps German, $800; a teacher of music and drawing, about $600; total, $3,20o! 
Of course the salaries vary and are somewhat higher in the Eastern States. This high 
school would have accomplished practical results that were never accomplished in the 
institute. The pupils in classics would become familiar with at least two Latin and 
three Greek authors; they would have a practical knowledge of algebra and geometry 
that would enable them to take up higher courses in the university; and in the sciences 
they would have been familiarized through laboratory work with the principles of 
independent investigation. The same would have been true of history. None of these 
results were attained in the institute, though the expense for salaries was six times 
that of the high school. In other words, the tendency seems to have been to 



176 REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 

measure the appropriation for an institution by what was promised rather by the 
results actually accomplished in it. 

A system of rigid examinations by the insular authorities, both written and prac- 
tical, is not desirable from the strictly pedagogical point of view, but it seems neces- 
sary, under the prevailing conditions existing here, to secure some such rough-and- 
ready measure of results and to base expenditures upon results obtained. An insti- 
tution preparing 10 boys for college a year, and giving instruction to 50, should 
have an appropriation based upon these facts. In primary schools, where examina- 
tions are not practicable, there must be substituted for them a system of close inspec- 
tion by qualified inspectors. Hitherto examinations have been held by the local 
educational authorities, who have visited the schools and examined the pupils 
orally. Teachers occasionally bring in pupils from other schools to represent their 
own classes at these examinations. Either through ignorance or intention the most 
glaring errors were overlooked. In one examination in San Juan itself several errors 
in long division were not noticed by examiners. The same occurred in Fajardo, and 
doubtless in other districts. 

In resume, then, a special tax for educational purposes, providing means for cre- 
ating an educational plant, strict requirements for admission to the profession of 
teaching, the adjustment of appropriations in higher institutions to the work actually 
accomplished by them, and the maintaining of a rigid system of inspection in the 
primary schools, seem to be the most necessary measures of reform of the educational 
system. The present appropriations are sufficient for the number of pupils at present 
enrolled. The expenditure per capita for the enrollment is enough, if properly 
administered, to give the pupils now in the public schools of Puerto Rico as good an 
education as they would secure in the public schools of some of our most progressive 
and enlightened States. The proportion of the entire revenue of the island to be 
devoted to public -school purposes should be multiplied by 3. This educational 
revenue, however, should be devoted to extending school facilities so that the 7 or 8 
children out of every 10 who now find no accommodations in the schools may have 
the same advantages as the small minority now receiving instruction. 

In April, 1899, upon recommendation of the secretary of state, and without the 
concurrence of General Eaton, then at the head of this department, a general order 
was issued making the support of the common schools after the beginning of the 
following economic year, July 1, 1899, a charge upon the insular instead of upon 
the municipal treasuries. This order has been modified in practical operation as 
follows: 

The municipalities continue to provide schoolhouses, furniture, and the residences 
of teachers, or a commutation in money for the last item. 

The insular government pays the salaries of teachers and for text-books, charts, 
and maps used in the schools. 

We have not complete statistics of the amount of municipal appropriations for the 
items above specified for the present economic year, as all municipal budgets have 
not yet been approved by the insular government. The largest single municipal 
appropriation is that of San Juan, $19,620, currency of the United States. In the 
smaller municipalities the public-school budget varies from $400 to $4,000, currency 
of the United States. 

The insular appropriations for public instruction, including school administration 
and supervision, for the economic year 1899-1900 are as follows: 

Insular educational appropriation for 1899-1900. 

I. — ADMINISTRATION AND SUPERVISION. 

Board of education: 

Salaries $7,700 

Supplies .... 3,000 

English supervisors (salaries) 14, 400 

Teachers' institute and summer school 2, 200 

Total administration and supervision $27, 300 

II. — SECONDARY SCHOOLS. 

Industrial and Normal School at Fajardo, contingent upon appropria- 
tion of $20,000 of the following sum by the city of Fajardo for land 

and buildings $40, 000 

Model training-school building 5, 000 

Model training school, salaries and equipment 15, 000 

Total for secondary education 60, 000 



REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 177 

III. — COMMON SCHOOLS. 

28 principals, at $675 $18,900 

76 grade teachers, at $450 34, 200 

194 grade teachers, at $360 69, 840 

322 rural teachers, at $270 86, 940 

Supplies: 

Text-books for 31,000 children, at $1 each 31, 000 

Transportation for same 350 

Total for common schools $241, 230 

IV. — LIBRARY AND MUSEUM. 

Salaries $720 

Furniture and reference books 800 

1,520 

Total educational appropriation 330, 050 

Insular educational appropriation for 1898-1899. 

A.— BY GENERAL GOVERNMENT. 

• I. Administration $12, 699. 00 

II. Salaries: 

Pension commission $860. 17 

Secondary institute 1, 608. 60 

Normal schools 10, 600. 00 

Total 13,068.77 

III. Supplies: 

Pension commission (includes $4,000 for 

pension fund) 2, 900. 10 

Secondary institute 1, 950. 00 

Normal schools 1, 524. 00 

Superior board of education 120. 00 

Total 6,494.10 

IV. Subsidies: 

Atheneum, San Juan 4, 200. 00 

Lyceum, Mayaguez 600. 00 

Popular institute, San Juan 1, 200. 00 

Paulist college, Ponce 1,800,00 

Total ; 7, 800. 00 

Total educational appropriation by General Govern- 
ment $40, 061. 87 

B.— BY PROVINCIAL DEPUTATION. 

Subsidies, orphan asylum school, Esculapian school, and Sisters' school at 

Santurce ; 21, 283. 32 

Total insular appropriations for education 61, 345. 19 



Table shotting total revenues and. total appropriations for education of General Government 

and municipalties. 



Year. 


Total insu- 
lar expen- 
diture. 


Total mu- 
nicipal ex- 
penditure. 


Total pub- 
lic expen- 
diture. 


Insular ex- 
penditure 
tor public 
education. 


Municipal 
expendi- 
ture for 

education. 


Total ex- 
penditure 
for educa- 
tion. 


1898-99 


$2, 869, 152 
1, 943, 678 


$1,618,769 $4,487,922 
1 429 981 a S7a rsq 


$75, 843 
330, 050 


- $203,373 
83, 063 


$279, 216 


1899-1900 


413, 113 









12558 12 



178 REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 

VI. 

SOCIOLOGICAL FACTORS — GENERAL REMARKS. 

The educational problem in Puerto Rico is affected by the physical conformation 
of the island. The interior is divided into many little mountain valleys, "isolated 
from each other and inaccessible at certain times of the year by ordinary means of 
communication. Supervisors are obliged to make their rounds on horseback and are 
detained in towns for days at a time by high water. Schoolbooks and supplies are 
transported to some municipalities on pack mules or on the heads of peons. This 
division and isolation of rural communities renders inspection and supervision of 
schools difficult, narrows the intellectual as well as the physical horizon of the 
people, and renders even the insularity of the Puerto Rican more insular. It would 
favor organizing the schools upon a district basis were it not for the fact that the 
general intelligence of these remote communities is so low that they can not perfect 
and conduct successfully even the rudimentary political organization involved in the 
district system. We have record of cases where a barrio of nearly 4,000 population, 
with an area half that of an American township, paying land and consumption 
taxes to the amount of nearly 6,000 pesos per annum, has not had for twenty years 
a school, a physician, or a minister of the gospel. These physical conditions, how- 
ever, do not present an insurmountable obstacle to the establishment of a successful 
public-school system. In Norway every peasant can read and write, and yet the 
isolation, due to the physical features of the country and the natural obstacles to 
communication, is probably greater there than in Puerto Rico. , 

Another factor in the public school problem is the character of the population. 
In the first place the people are very poor; in the second they are very ignorant; in 
the third they are not of the same race; in the fourth they lack a heritage of intel- 
lectual and social dicipline. It will be impossible for local taxation to support a pub- 
lic school system in Puerto Rico. Even in the United States we find that the hand 
of the Government must be stretched out to aid the poorer communities in order that 
the State may have the support and benefit of a uniformly intelligent and educated 
body of citizens. Here this need is still more apparent. The race question is not 
prominent at present, but may become more so with the spread of education. It 
does not prevent the mingling of pupils of both white and black parentage in the 
same schools, and there are many excellent colored teachers in the employ of the 
Government. There is one danger to be avoided, and that is, that a little learning, 
in a country where the acquisition of a mere livelihood is so easy, may disincline the 
people to manual labor. Industrial education is exceedingly important. We want 
to make citizens and not politicians in our schools, and to teach habits of thrift and 
industry at the same time that we teach reading and writing. Manual training 
should accompany mental training from the first, and the dignity of labor should be 
taught with even more emphasis, perhaps, than the dignity of learning. 

The character of the local government must also be considered in planning for the 
future educational needs of the island. The simulation of great interest in public 
education is often attended by extreme apathy whenever a practical demonstration 
of that interest is called for. The city of San Juan, the city of Ponce, the city of 
Mayaguez, the principal towns of the island, have not yet provided quarters for the 
public schools which open October 2. For months but two members of the board of 
education at Mayaguez could be prevailed upon to attend its meetings. Municipal 
treasurers in many instances refused to assume the burden of acting as government 
agents in paying public school salaries, and municipal councils willingly defer the 
election of teachers to the central government, and disencumber themselves with 
much satisfaction of many functions that local authorities in the States cling to with 
the greatest pertinacity. Education has been habitually neglected. The public 
school-teachers were the last of the public servants to receive their pay. Where 
there is a low standard of intelligence in a community the popular demand for edu- 
cation, which really exists, has little opportunity to express itself. The government 
is. in the hands of the people who pay the largest per cent of the direct taxes, and 
who, at the same time, have the least interest in educating the masses of the people 
at large. The broad gulf between the rich and the poor and between the educated 
and the uneducated explains the lack of sympathy which leads to the lack of interest 
in universal education. 

In considering the character of the pupils we are approaching more closely to the 
pedagogical aspect of the school problem here. Great natural aptness is combined 
in most instances with little intellectual discipline. Pupils are not accustomed to the 
independent pursuit of knowledge. They have not been taught either to observe 
things or to consult books. The home discipline, except in case of families of the 
better class, does not support school discipline, and there is no home environment 



REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 179 

such as we have in the States. Home work could not be assigned a pupil, because 
he has no home, in our sense of the word, in which to do home work. A servant, 
who will twine a garland of wild flowers about the ornaments of a room with more 
artistic taste than would be displayed by a domestic of Northern blood, will hang the 
pictures wrong side up in replacing them on the walls after dusting. The faculty of 
observing details, of seeing the rational rather than the emotional basis of things, has 
not been awakened. To a cursory observer it seems as though the children possess 
less self-organizing ability than those in the United States. Boys do not form ball 
clubs or such social organizations as are common with us. The bond of union, where 
a union is formed, is some individual leader, not an idea or a purpose. The social 
instinct in play is less developed. 

When we consider the schools of Puerto Rico under their pedagogical aspect, we 
perceive at once that we have come in contact with a European system. That the 
methods of school organization, discipline, and instruction are different in trans- 
Atlantic countries than our own, that the United States represents a world apart in 
public-school matters, is something we do not always realize. The same features arrest 
the attention of all Enropean observers and critics of our public-school system, and this 
is perhaps the more proof that they are characteristic. One English investigator is 
impressed with the uniformity of the school system all over theStates; another by 
the freedom and self-control manifested by the pupils; another by the use of text- 
books and recitation methods; all of them by the importance which we ascribe to the 
material basis of the school system; to proper buildings, desks, boards, to the supe- 
riority of our text-books, and to the minute systematization of work prevailing in our 
schools. These things are absent in Puerto Rico. The teacher is the school. Mate- 
rial conveniences were little valued and seldom provided; text-books were worthless. 
Most schools were conducted apparently upon a happy-go-lucky method so far as 
programme, arrangement of studies, and discipline were concerned. In the same way 
that when an American system becomes bad it generally becomes bad through 
becoming mechanical through oversystematization, when a European system becomes 
bad it does so through becoming chaotic through utter absence of system. One of 
the first needs that was felt was that of inspection. We had to know what the 
schools were before we could know what reforms were needed in them. This inspec- 
tion was made by people familiar with the American schools. 

We could hardly expect many faults to be readily seen by those that had been 
accustomed to seeing them all their lives. There was evidently the need of some 
means through which the teachers could inform themselves. They were not qualified, 
to teach from a scholastic point of view, but they were earnest and willing to learn. 
The readiest way of disseminating intelligence and information and knowledge was 
through teachers and through books. We have placed the text-books in the teachers' 
hands as tools for their own instruction. Hitherto where a text-book has been used 
it has been memorized by heart. The method of teaching the catechism set the 
model for teaching everything. The text-books that have been adopted are books 
that will lend themselves to this method of study as little as possible. Nature study — 
the study of concrete things — is unknown. Consequently this side of education 
needs to be emphasized more than it might under other conditions. Standards had 
to be established, and while not in sympathy with mechanical examinations under 
other conditions, it seemed necessary here to examine teachers and pupils rigidly, 
strictly, impartially, and uniformly all over the island in order to awaken them to a 
consciousness of their own defects and to establish a standard showing them what, 
we expect them to attain. 

There is opposition to the American schools. If left to itself Puerto Rico would 
not establish them until that time comes when a controlling majority of its intelli- 
gent classes had received their education in the institutions of the United States. 
This opposition arises from several reasons. In the first place, the educational 
leaders of the island have been trained in the schools of Spain and France. They 
understand the system followed in those countries, but they do not understand the 
American system, and their opposition follows as a natural result of this fact. It is 
stimulated by the additional consideration that, as the teachers constituted an official 
class, they felt and resented keenly, as did all Puerto Rican officials, the appropriation 
of the best positions in the island by the Spaniards. They do not want to see this 
repeated in case of America, and they see in the incoming of American teachers 
simply an invasion for spoils. While this is true of the educational leaders of Puerto 
Rican birth, there is hearty cooperation and assistance to be expected from a majority 
of teachers, and we believe that this cooperation will be still more cordial when the 
merits of the American system are understood and when the teachers begin to receive 
their salaries regularly and to be relieved from the uncertainty as to their future 
financial prospects and the embarrassment attending this that has been an occasion 
of real distress to many of them during the past few months. 



180 REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 

Finally, it must be remembered that over four-fifths of the population of Puerto 
Rico have yet to be awakened into intellectual, social, and civic consciousness, and 
that this must be accomplished through the public schools. If the public-school 
system is left to inefficiency and neglect, this awakening of the people will be indefi- 
nitely postponed. If it is allowed to remain European, and if France and Spain 
are to continue the intellectual mistresses of the island, the very improvement of the 
public-school system may tend only to alienate the people in their fundamental 
sympathies from the Government of which they form a part. If the schools are 
made American, and teachers and pupils are inspired with the American spirit, and 
people of both races can be made to cooperate harmoniously in building up the 
schools, the island will become in its sympathies, views, and attitude toward life 
and toward government essentially American. The great mass of Puerto Ricans 
are as yet passive and plastic, knowing nothing of and neutral in their attitude 
toward school methods and systems, but blindly and unvocally groping toward the 
light. Their ideals are in our hands to create and mold. We shall be responsible 
for the work when it is done, and it is our solemn duty to consider carefully and 
thoughtfully to-day the character we wish to give the finished product of our influ- 
ence and effort. 



Appendix A. 

TEACHERS' BULLETIN, NO. 1, CONTAINING OUTLINE OP STUDY AND PROGRAMMES FOR 

PRIMARY SCHOOLS. 

[Issued by authority of the insular board of education.] 

'Insular board of education. — Victor S. Clark, president; George G. Groff, Jose E. 
Saldana, Henry Huyke, R. H. Todd. 

Officers of the board. — Victor S. Clark, president and insular superintendent; H. B. 
Wiborg, cashier and United States disbursing officer; Enrique Hernandez, secretary. 

I. INTRODUCTION. 

The following outline of a course of study is published as a temporary guide for 
teacher sof rural and graded schools pending the appearance of a large and more 
complete manual: 

As all the text-books are not in our hands, it is not possible to assign the exact 
amount for each year, but approximately the work laid out in the following scheme 
must be covered: Short examinations will be given in the different schools by the 
English supervisors and other inspectors from time to time, without previous notice, 
and teachers are urged to keep the work up to the standard required. The regula- 
tions with reference to text-books must be strictly observed. These books are public 
property and the teacher is held responsible for all books in his or her hands. Text- 
books should last two or three years. The school hours are long enough to enable 
pupils to prepare lessons at school, and no home work is required that will necessi- 
tate the use of text-books, consequently books should be distributed to pupils at the 
beginning of study periods, in order that one class may study while another class 
is reciting. Books should be collected at the close of every study period or recitation. 
Every schoolroom should be provided with a water-tight lock case in which books 
may be kept when not in use by pupils. No old text books can be used in the 
schools. Religious instruction is forbidden. 

In regard to the programme, much is left at the teacher' s discretion, and it is permitted 
teachers to dismiss the youngest children, those of the first and second grades, from 
school one hour earlier than the school closes each afternoon session. Every teacher, 
however, must post in his or her schoolroom where it can be plainly seen a programme 
of the daily work of the school, and this programme must be followed. Those 
submitted will serve as models. 

In the rural schools it may not be possible to undertake more than the first three 
years' work and in this case two or three classes can be formed. 

Teachers are especially requested to note the following regulations, the violations 
of which may cost them their titles and their positions: 

1. No teacher is permitted to leave the schoolroom during regular school hours 
upon any legal school day for the purpose of attending to business not connected with 
his school work. In other words, the teacher is expected to be at his post of duty 
during the full time required by law. 

2. Employment of substitutes not authorized by the insular board of education is 
positively forbidden. 



REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 181 

3. Religious instruction in schools during school hours is not permitted, the full 
time being devoted to the regular course of study. 

4. Teachers are held personally responsible for the condition of text-books and for 
their proper return at the close of the school year. 

OUTLINE OP COUESE OF STUDY. 

First year (first grade — primary) . 

First term. — Spanish: Reading from chart. Teach the words before you teach the 
alphabet; associate the words with the objects. 

English: Reading from chart Teach the sounds of the words, giving the Spanish 
equivalent only in case of abstract words, verbs, and connectives, and whenever pos- 
sible associate the word with the object instead of defining it. 

Arithmetic: Teach counting in Spanish and English. 

Music: Kindergarten motion songs. 

Second term. — Spanish: Reading chart continued. 

English: Chart work continued. 

Arithmetic: Covering the work in the first eight lessons of Part I of the arithmetic, 
orally, in English and Spanish, and teach the numerals. 

Music: Calisthenics and general lessons, as outlined in the Teachers' Bulletin. 

Third term. — Spanish: Begin the First Reader, covering about one-third of the- 
book. 

English: Complete and thoroughly review the chart. 

Arithmetic: Cover Part I, lessons 9 to 30, inclusive. Oral and written work in 
English and Spanish. 

Music: Calisthenics and general lessons, as before. 

Second year (second grade — primary) . 

First term. — Spanish: Review first part of the First Reader, and continue, covering 
the second one-third of the book in advance. 

English: Review the chart thoroughly. Begin Appleton's First Reader, reading 
about twenty lessons or more, if possible; or with the Riverside Primer, complete 
the first fifteen lessons. 

Arithmetic: Review and complete Part I in English and Spanish. 

Music: National airs, kindergarten songs, general lessons, and calisthenics, as out- 
lined in Teachers' Bulletin. 

Second term. — Spanish: Complete First Reader. 
_ English: Appleton', scomplete Part I, with written exercises in English; or, River- 
side Primer, lessons 16 to 40, inclusive, with written exercises. 

Arithmetic: The first twenty lessons, Part II, principally in English, extending 
the written exercises. 

Music: Calisthenics and general lessons, as in first term. 

Third term. — Spanish: Second Reader continued. 

English: Appleton's completed, or Riverside Primer, lessons 41 to 75, inclusive, 
with written exercises. 

Arithmetic: Lessons 21 to 44, inclusive, of Part II. 

Music: Calisthenics and general lessons, as in previous term. 

Thirdly ear (third grade — intermediate) . 

First term. — Spanish: Review of first lessons of the Second Reader, completing in 
advance about one-third of the book. 

English: A thorough review of the part of Appleton's Reader already read. Riv- 
erside Primer, lessons 45 to 87, inclusive, with written exercises, or special selections 
in English. 

Arithmetic: A thorough review of the first forty-four lessons of Part II, completing 
the remainder of Part II in advance. 

Music: Calisthenics and general lessons as provided in special bulletin to teachers. 

Second term. — Spanish: Complete about two-thirds of the Second Reader. 

English: Riverside Primer, lessons 88 to 120, inclusive, with written exercises. 

Arithmetic: The first 27 lessons of Part III. This work should be in English, and 
written work should be emphasized. 
• Music: Calisthenics and general lessons as provided in the Teachers' Bulletin. 

Third term. — Spanish: Complete the Second Reader and begin work in Primeras 
Nociones de Lenguaje, covering about 15 pages of the book, teaching orally the parts 
of speech. 



182 REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 

English: Complete the Riverside Primer and Reader. 

Arithmetic: Complete Part III of the book. 

Music: Calisthenics and general lessons as provided in the Bulletin. 

Fourth year (fourth grade — intermediate) . 

First term. — Spanish: Review thoroughly the first fifteen lessons of language book 
and continue, completing about one-third of the book. In reading let the pupil read 
the geography as a reading lesson as far as page 20, allowing three days a week for 
a close questioning and topical work upon the subject read. 

English: A thorough review of the Riverside Primer. Sight reading from material 
provided in the Bulletin for teachers, and the story of Columbus in the Eggleston 
History. Language lessons begun. 

Arithmetic: A thorough review of Part III, completing first ten lessons of Part IV. 

Music: Calisthenics and general lessons as outlined in Teachers' Bulletin. 

Second term. — Spanish: Continue the language lessons. Read the geography as far 
as "North America," with questions and topical work three days of the week as 
indicated for the first term. 

English: Language lessons two days of the week, reading in Eggleston' s History 
two days of the week, questions upon the history one day of the week. 

Arithmetic: Lessons 11 to 28, inclusive, of Part IV. 

Music: Calisthenics and general lessons as indicated in Bulletin. 

Third term. — Spanish: Language lessons continued. Geography as in the previous 
terms, North America and the United States. 

English: Language lessons continued — Eggleston' s History, reading two days of the 
week and questions one day of the week as indicated in previous terms, completing 
about eighteen chapters of the history this year. 

Arithmetic: To lesson 55 in advance. 

Music: Calisthenics and general lessons indicated in Bulletin. 

Fifth year. 

First term. — Spanish: A thorough review of the geography and of the language 
lessons, containing the geography to " Groups of States." 

English : A thorough review of the language lessons and the history, continuing so 
as to complete about twenty-five chapters of the history. 

Arithmetic: A thorough review and Lessons 55 to 60 in advance. 

Lecciones en lenguaje (Espanol-Ingles) : Twenty-five pages. 

Music: Calisthenics and general lessons as indicated in Bulletin. 

Second term. — Spanish: Language lessons continued, with more formal grammar 
and the reading of literary selections in Spanish. 

English: Complete Eggleston' s History. Continue language lessons. 

Arithmetic: Complete percentage as given in the text-book. 

Geography: Review and complete geography of the continents. Use the books 
for reading lessons only occasionally. 

Lecciones en Lenguaje: Twenty -five pages. 

Music: Calisthenics and general lessons as indicated in Bulletin. 

Third term. — Spanish: Complete the language lessons, reading Spanish literary 
selections. 

English: Continue language lessons, introducing more of formal grammar, and 
read literary selections bearing upon American history. 

Arithmetic: Review percentage and take mensuration in advance. 

Geography: The detailed study of the United States, including Puerto Rico. 

Lecciones en Lenguaje: Twenty-five pages. 

Music: Calisthenics and general lessons as indicated in Bulletin. 

Sixth year. 

Spanish: During the sixth year literary selections in Spanish should be continued 
from books which will be recommended later, and formal grammar should be thor- 
oughly reviewed, according to a synopsis published in the Manual. 

English: Literary selections — Robinson Crusoe, Hiawatha, Miles Standish — should 
be read and formal grammar should be taught, following the synopsis published in 
the Manual. 

Arithmetic: Work from an advanced book, to be prescribed later, especial atten- 
tion to be given to commercial arithmetic and -mensuration. 

Geography: The geography should be completed during the sixth year and a 
thorough review by topics, as suggested in the outline published in the Manual. 



REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 



183 



United States History: Should be reviewed from some advanced book, to be pre- 
scribed later, in Spanish or English. 

Principles of civil government should be taught the third term of this year. 

Lecciones in Lenguaje (Espafiol-Ingles) completed. 

Music: Calisthenics and general lessons as indicated in the Bulletin. 

III. — PROGRAMME, 

There should be a carefully arranged programme of every day's recitation, and this 
programme should be faithfully followed. There should be a time for everything and 
everything should be done in its time. Every child in school should know just what 
he has to do at each period, and know how he has to do it. The programme should 
be plainly written or printed on a sheet of heavy paper and posted where it can be 
easily seen by all pupils and visitors. A programme that is not followed is worse than 
useless. Every exercise named for a certain hour and minute should begin at that 
minute and close as promptly. Teachers and pupils should form the habit of being 
ready at the appointed time. For the very youngest children a recitation period of 
fifteen or twenty minutes is long enough. As pupils grow in the power of attention 
-and the teacher grows in his power to hold attention, the periods may be made 
longer. In all programmes the exercises should be so arranged as to afford variety; 
the child's interest and attention flag if held too long to one kind of work. Writing 
should alternate with book study, numbers with drawing; physical exercise should 
follow work involving little movement. In providing study work this matter should 
be considered and variety of occupation provided. There should be a table at which 
pupils may stand to cut, paste, model, or arrange forms, allowing little children the 
movement which they need. Work at the blackboard furnishes opportunity for 
variety in position and movement. Seat work has two general aims — to prepare for 
the coming recitation or to apply a truth learned in a preceding one. The programme 
should provide for both preparation and drill, affording appropriate periods for each. 

The teachers must bear in mind the absolute necessity for daily preparation of the 
work of the ensuing day. The teacher must study no less than the pupil if she is to 
be successful. Questioning should never be from the book, and, above all, do not 
permit your pupils to repeat the words of the book in recitation. Memorizing for 
repetition is not only worthless and a waste of time, but positively harmful to the 
pupil. A pupil does not understand what he repeats word for word from the book; 
what the pupil understands he will express in his own words. He must put his own 
individuality into his answer if his answer is to have meaning for him. 

The first of the two programmes is intended for primary grades in schools having 
several teachers or for rural schools attended only by the youngest pupils. 

The second of the programmes is intended for graded schools of two or more teachers 
and for rural schools having advanced classes. 

Programme for primary grades. 
FIRST AND SECOND YEARS. 



Time of 

class. 


Minutes. 


Class I. 


Class II. 


8.30 


20 


Songs and general lesson. 


Songs and general lesson. 


8.50 


15 


Spanish. 


Study general lessons. 


9.05 


15 


Study arithmetic. 


Spanish. 


9.20 


10 


Physical exercises. 


Physical exercises. 


9.30 


15 


Arithmetic. 


Study arithmetic. 


9.45 


15 


Study English. 


Arithmetic. 


10.00 


15 


Recess. 


Recess. 


10.15 


20 


Study arithmetic. 


Study arithmetic. 


10.35 


20 


English. 


Study English. 


10.55 


20 


Study Spanish. 


English. 


11.15 


15 


Writing or drawing. 


Writing or drawing. 


1.30 


15 


Music. 


Music. 


1.45 


15 


General lesson. 


General lesson. 


2.00 


5 


Physical exercises. 


Physical exercises. 


2.05- 


15 


Spanish. 


Study Spanish. 


2.20 


15 


Study English. 


Spanish. 


2.35 


10 


Recess. 


Recess. 


2.45 


15 


English. 


Study English. 


3.00 


15 


Study Spanish. 


English. 


3.15 


15 


Writing or drawing. 


Writing or drawing. 



184 



REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 



Three-grade programm e. 



Time of 
class. 


Minutes. 


Primary. 


Secondary. 


Advanced. 


8.30 


10 


Opening exercises. 


Opening exercises. 


Opening exercises. 


8.40 


25 


Seat work. 


Study arithmetic. 


Arithmetic. 


9.05 


25 


Study arithmetic with slate 
or objects. 


Arithmetic. 


Study English. 


9.30 


20 


Arithmetic. 


Study English. 


Study English. 


9.50 


20 


Form work — paper folding, 
stick laying, etc. 


Study English. 


English. 


10.10 


10 


Recess. 


Recess. 


Recess. 


10.20 


20 


Study English. 


English. 


Study arithmetic. 


.10.40 


20 


English. 


Form work — map drawing, 
sand molding, etc. 


Study Spanish. 


11.00 


25 


Excused from school. 


Study Spanish. 


Spanish. 


1.30 


10 


General lesson. 


General lesson. 


General lesson. 


1.40 


20 


Form work — clay model- 
ing, paper cutting, etc. 


Spanish. 


Study geography. 


2.00 


20 


Study Spanish. 


Seat work. 


Geography. 


2.20 


20 


Spanish. 


Animal or plant study. 


Study United States 

history. 
Writing or language. 


2.40 


30 


Writing or language. 


Writing or language. 


3.10 


10 


Recess. 


Recess. 


Recess. 


3.20 


20 


Study arithmetic with slate 
or objects. 


Study English. 


United States history. 


3.40 


20 


Drawing, singing, or gen- 


Drawing, singing, or gen- 


Drawing, singing, or 






eral lesson. 


eral lesson. 


general lesson. 


4.00 


15 


Excused from school. 


English. 


Study English. 


4.15 


15 




Study arithmetic. 


English. 



V. — LIST OP TEXT-BOOKS. 

The text-books ordered by the state for the public schools of the island are as 
follows : 

Spanish. 

McGuffy's Chart — The Amei^ican Book Company, Washington Square, New York. 

Libro Primero de Lectura — The American Book Company, Washington Square, 
New York. 

Libro Segundo de Lectura— The American Book Company, Washington Square, 
New York. 

Primeros Pasos en Literatura — Silver, Burdett & Co. , New York. 

Primeras Nociones de Lenguaje por Bartlett — Silver, Burdett & Co., New York. 

English. 

Carnifix Reading Chart — B. F. Johnson Publishing Company, Richmond, Va. 
Appleton's First Reader — The American Book Company, Washington Square, New 
York. 
Riverside Primer and Reader — Houghton, Mifflin & Co., Boston, Mass. 
Tarbell's Lessons in Language — Ginn & Co., Boston, Mass. 

Spanish and English. 

Lecciones en Lenguaje, Espafiol Ingles — The American Book Company, New York. 

Geography — Frye's Geografia Elemental — Ginn & Co., Boston, Mass. 

Arithmetic — Wentworth's Elementary Arithmetic — Ginn & Co., Boston, Mass. 

Music; Song Book for Home and School — Ginn & Co., Boston, Mass. 

Besides these books it is the intention of the board of education to publish monthly 
a teachers' bulletin, uniform with this bulletin, and containing outlines of oral lessons 
in hygiene, nature study, and general history, and, as there is need for them, literary 
selections in Spanish and in English will be provided for the schools. 

The board has also made arrangements to have translated for the use of teachers of 
the schools of Puerto Rico one of the best works on primary teaching in use in the 
American schools, entitled Waymarks for Teachers, by Sarah Arnold. This book will 
contain a full outline for nature study, adapted to Puerto Rico. 

It is the intention of the board, also, to publish a complete manual for teachers, 
containing a course of study for the primary and secondary schools, as soon as practi- 
cable, and the manuscript of this book is now in course of preparation. 



REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 



185 



Municipality 



Appendix B. 
-. School — 



Date 



I have this day received from the insular board of education the following school- 
books and supplies, for the proper care and return of which I am personally respon- 
sible under the rules of the board. 



Name of book. 



Number of 

copies 
received- 



Condition 

when 
received. 



Number of 

copies 
returned. 



Condition 

when 
returned. 



Carta Espanola por McGuff y 

Carnifex's English Chart 

Libro Primero de Lectura 

Libro Segundo de Lectura 

Primeros Pasos en Literatura 

Appleton's First Reader 

Riverside Primer and Reader 

Primeras Nocionesde en Lenguaje por Bart- 
■ lett 



Tarbell's Lessons in Language 

Lecciones en Lenguaje (EspafiolTngl6s) 

Geografia Elemental por Frye 

Wentworth's Elementary Arithmetic 

Eggleston's Primary History of United States. 
Historia de los Estados Unidos por McMaster. 

Manual of Puerto Rico 

Waymarks for Teachers, by Sarah Arnold 

Guias para Maestros por Sarah Arnold 

Map of United States 

Map of Puerto Rico 

Song Book for School and Home 



1. Books must not be taken from schoolroom except at personal risk of teachers. 

2. Books should be distributed to pupils at the beginning of each study period or 
recitation and collected at the close of the period. 

3. Books should be kept in a locked case when not in use. 

4. Books must be returned to supervisors at close of school term or school year. 

Remember that school books and supplies are Government property, not munici- 
pal or private property, and that you are held personally accountable for their proper 
care in the same way that other United States officials are held responsible for property 
intrusted to them, and any losses due to your negligence or failure to observe these 
rules will be made good from your salaries. 



Supervisors report upon 

Teacher's name ; age 



Appendix C. 

District No.— . 

— school at , for month ending 



1899. 



certificate 



-; grades taught 



I.— ENROLLMENT. 



1. Enrolled last report 

2. Admitted since last report 

3. Left school since last report 

4. Total enrollment at date 

5. Average number of days pupils attended (divide total days by total enrollment) . 

6. Total attendance in days 

7. Age of oldest pupil 

8. Age of youngest pupil 

9. Applications for admission refused from lack of seating capacity 



Boys. 



Girls. 



II.— TEACHER. 

1. Discipline? 

2. Neatness of schoolroom? 

3. Does she follow programme exactly? 

4. Do the pupils repeat from books? 



186 



REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAYIS. 



9. 
10. 
11. 
12. 



Does she keep pupils busy during study periods? 

Is she prompt and always at her post of duty during school hours? 

Are any but authorized text-books in use? 

Is religious instruction permitted? 

Does she make progress in English? 

Does she teach music? 

Does she teach nature study? 

Remarks: . 

III.— BOOKS AND SUPPLIES. 



1. Are all text-books reported according to receipt? 
ing and why? 

2. What is the condition of books? 

3. "What school furniture is in the school? 

4. What has been provided since last visit? 

5. Is there a clock? 

6. Is there a secure case for books? 



If not, what books are miss- 



IV.— SCHOOLHOUSE. 
What rent paid? 

What is estimated value of property? 
Condition of outhouses? 
Water supply? 

Is there a school garden or grounds? 
Is there a family residing under same roof? 
How far to nearest private residence? 
Dimensions of schoolroom? 
Distribution of light with reference to seats? 



A. M. 



V.— COPY OF SCHOOL PROGRAMME. 



VI.— PROGRESS REPORT. 



P. M. 



Subject. 



Book or class. 



From page — 



To page — 



VII.— SPECIAL EXAMINATION REPORT. 

Examination 

Subject 

Number examined 

Number passed 

Number failed .' 

Average per cent 

Remarks: 

Appendix D. 

PRIMARY SCHOOL EXAMINATION,! SEPTEMBER 18 TO 20, INCLUSIVE. 

1 These examinations are given quarterly by the English supervisors at the chief towns of each of 
the sixteen supervising districts— San Juan, Carolina, Fajardo, Humacao, Caguas, Cayey, Guayama, 
Coamo, Ponce, Yauco, San German, Mayaguez, Arecibo, Bayamon, Utuado, and Aguadilla. The 
applicants are mostly teachers who desire to establish their right to their present certificates upon an 
examination basis or applicants for teachers' certificates. The results of the September examinations, 
the questions for which form this appendix, were as follows: 

Number examined, 84. 



Subject. 


Passed. 


Failed. 




33 
42 
28 
17 
33 
18 


28 




9 




13 




28 




29 




11 








Total 


171 


118 







REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 187 

• 

1. Al enseiiar la Fisiologfa a - los ninos de los grados inferiores ^Cual debe ser el fin 
principal del maestrp? 

2. Cite tres convenientes estimulos para estudiar y compare su valor relativo. 

3. Presente un plan, partiendo del punto que prefiera, para ensefiar la geografio de 
Puerto Rico y razone el orden seguido. 

4. Forme un programa para una escuela de tres clases con dos sesiones de tres horas, 
incluyendo los perfodos de estudio y los de recitaciones, y diga que consideraciones 
le han guiado al hacer esa distribution. 

5. Manifeste las ventajas que los edificios para escuelas publicas ocupadas solamente 
con este objeto tienen sobre los edificios particulares 6 de otra especie en erne residen 
familias, desde los siguientes puntos de vista: 

(a) El higienico y sanitario. 

(b) El de la disciplina. 

ic) El del interes publico en las escuelas. 
(d) El de la economia publica. 

6. Presente un programa, en sus puntoa generales, para los estudios de los seis afios, 
incluyendo el estudio de la naturaleza en los dos primeros anos y el de la geografia 
en los cuatro ultimos, relacionando la historia con la geografia en los dos ultimos 
anos. 

7. Por la f rase ' ' recitation topica ' ' se entiende una relation hecha por el alumno 
sobre cualquier punto, usando para ello sus propias frases y palabras, distinguiendola 
asi de la respuesta directa dada a la pregunta hecha por el maestro. Una "recitation 
topica ' ' debe abarcar los varios puntos incluidos en el topico que se eligio, siguiendo 
el orden logico. Este debe ser exclusivamente el trabajo del alumno y el resultado 
del ejercicio gradual del pensamiento y la expresion, que empezo en los grados pri- 
maries. Diga que ventajas tiene este metodo de recitation sobre el que se limita a" 
repetir de memoria los libros, tomando para ello los siguientes puntos de vista: 

(a) El de enforzar la individualidad y la iniciativa. 

(b) El de ejercitar la facultad de expresion. 

(c) El de ejercitar al raciocinio. 

8. Froebel dice: "El nino solo entiende d, fondo aquello que puede producir." 
Diga lo que debe entenderse por esta sentencia, y manifieste la idea que V. tenga 
acerca de su aplicacion priictica en la escuela primaria, 

Geografia. 
[Preguntas basadas en la Geografia elemental de Frye.] 

Solo se requiere la primera 6 la segunda, y ademas otras cinco de las preguntas 
restantes. 

1. (15) Esboce un mapa del contorno maritirno desde la ciudad de New York hasta 
la desembocadura del rio Orinoco, situando en 61 d New Orleans, la peninsula del 
Yucatan, el lago Nicaragua, Cuba y Puerto Rico, y el proyectado canal de Panama. 
(9 por el mapa y 1 por cada lugar de los indicados. ) 

2. (15) Esboce un mapa del Mississippi y tres de sus principales tributaries, situ- 
ando en el Kansas City, Pittsburg, Illinois y Helena. (10 por el mapa y 1 por lugar 
de los indicados.) 

3. (10) Describa una de las rutas transcontinentales desde Chicago hasta la costa 
del Pacifico, y cite dos ciudades que haya en el camino. 

4. (10) Cite cinco variedades de arboles de Puerto Rico y haga una relation 
descriptiva acerca de cada variedad. 

5. (10) Indique la situation y haga una importante relation descriptiva 6 historica 
acerca de cada una de las ciudades siguientes: Moscow, Liverpool, Atenas, Leipzig y 
Napoles. 

6. (10) Describa el animal llamado reno. ^Donde habita? ^.De que se alimenta? 
iCuales son sus usos? Cite dos animales que son vecinos del reno. 

7. (10) Indique la situation de una region en Norte- America, sud-America, Africa, 
Australia, y Europa, las cuales han sido colonizadas & causa de su riqueza mineral, y 
cite la clase de mineral obtenido en cada region. 

8. (10) Cite cinco paises extranjeros de donde han venido emigrantes £ Puerto 
Rico y los Estados Unidos, y diga en que parte de los Estados ITnidos hay un gran 
numero de cada clase. 

9. (10) ^Como se produce la goma y donde se encuentra con mds abundancia? 
^Como y donde la seda, las perlas, el opio, la pimienta, el tabaco y el aziicar? 



±50 REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 

Aritmitica. 
[Problemas basados en la Aritmetica elemental de Wentworth.] 

1. Un agricultor tiene las -f- partes de sus vacas en un grande establo y el resto en 
uno pequeno. Si tiene 20 vacas en el establo grande. ^Cuantas tendra en el pequeno? 

2. Si a razon de 3^- kilometros por hora un hombre anda cierta distancia en 3£ 
horas. ^Cuantas horas necesitard para andar la misma distancia a razon de 3| 
kilometros por hora? 

3. Un hombre vendio una casa en $240 menos de lo que habia costado y perdio el 
12 % de lo que pago por ella. ^Cuanto le costo la casa? 

4. Un agente vendio 450 fanegas de trigo a razon de 80 centavos la fanega y reci- 
bio $9 por su comision. iQue tanto por ciento de comision hie" el que cargo? 

5. A cuanto monta el aseguro de una casa, si el costo del aseguro es de $60 y el 
tanto por ciento es el 1J? 

6. ^Cuanto se debera pagar por una bicicleta si el precio corriente es de $75 y el 
descuento 40 %1 

7. Un comerciante compro una tela a $3.20 la yarda y la vendio con un beneficio 
de Vl\ por ciento, descontando en el recibo el 5 % por pago al contado. iCuantos 
centavos gano por cada yarda de tela? 

8. Hi ide que numero es la \ parte? 

9. El sonido corre a razon de 1,120 pies porsegundo. <j,A que distancia se hallara 
la nube de donde partio el trueno, cuando este es iodo 13 segundos despu^s de haber 
sido visto el relampago? 

10. ^Cuantas libras de queso, compradas a razon de 10 centavos la libra, deben ser 
vendidas con una ganancia de 20 % , para conseguir un beneficio liquido de $10? 

Idioma ingUs. 
Traduzca al espanol: 

1. (25) Dick has fed the cows and Mabel has milked them, and now Bob is driv- 
ing them down to the pond. 

How gentle the cows seem! 

Bob has a long stick in his hand, but I do not think he needs to hit the cows with it. 
"Bob! Bob! Bob!" I say, "do you hit the cows. with that stick?" 
"I do not hit them unless they try to run off; then I hit them just a little. I do 
not like to hit them." 
Traduzca al ingles: 

2. (25) Yo veo unas flores muy lindas. 
Felipa trae flores a su papa. 

Mi gato bianco tiene ojos azules. 

Mi cabrito tiene cuernos negros y patas blancas. 

La rata esta sobre la canasta y el gato esta sobre la silla. 

3. (50) (a) Diga el presente y el pasado de dos verbos de los que haya en la pre- 
gunta "1," en las tres personas del singular y plural. 

(6) Haga una listade los nombres y sus respectivos modificadores en la pregunta "1." 

Historia — Para maestros rurales y elementales. 
[Preguntas basadas en el libro primero de la Historia americana de Eggleston.] 

1. Haga una breve relacion de los descubrimientos de Colon, en unas diez lfneas, 
indicando la fecha en que navego, y bajo que auspicios; su proposito al hacer el 
viaje; el numero de viajes y los descubrimientos que hizo. 

2. Cite el nombre de un descubridor y explorador del continente americano, de 
nacionalidad inglesa. ^Que efecto produjo su labor en la ulterior colonizacion del 
continente? 

3. ,j,Cuales fueron las dos primeras colonias permanentes fundadas por los ingleses? 

4. iQuienfue Benjamin Franklin? A que periodo de la historia americana estd 
asociado su nombre? Cite detalladamente algunos de los servicios que presto a su 
pais. 

5. ?Quienes fueron los ri vales principales de los ingleses en la colonizacion del con- 
tinente norte-americano? iQue" guerras con esta nation precedieron a la Revolution? 
iQue gran general de la revolution entro en batalla por primera vez en estas guerras? 

6. iQue descubrimiento hizo Roberto Fulton? iQue efecto produjo en la mayor 
extension de la colonization americana en Norte- America? 

7. <j,En que guerra tomo parte Andrew Jackson? 

8. iQuien descubrio la telegrafia electrica? 

9. Diga algo acerca de la mocedad de Abraham Lincoln. 

10. Haga un lijero bosquejo del crecimiento territorial de los Estados Unidos. 



EEPOE.T OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 189 



Idioma espanol. 

PARA RURALES. 



1. Definition del articulo, su division y declination. 

2. Definition del adjetivo; sus grados. 

3. Verbo; su division y conjugation. 

4. Preposition. iQue son preposiciones separables 6 inseparables? 

5. iQue es oration? Clases de oraciones. 

6. Yo estudio el inglhe iQue clase de oration es? Partes de qu6 consta. Forma 
pasiva. . ., . 

7. Juan aprende tres idiomas. Analisis gramatical de esta oracion. Decir los casos 
en que se encuentran Juan e idiomas. 

8. iQue clase de verbo es aprender por su signification y por su forma? <;Es regu- 
lar 6 irregular? ^A que conjugation pertenece? ^Porque la palabra idioma es del 
genero masculino terminando en a? 

9. Diga algunas excepciones de los terminados en a que sean del genero masculmo. 

10. Diga tres palabras terminadas en o que sean del genero femenino. 



PARA ELEMENTALES. 



1. iQue es sintaxis? Su division. 

2. iQue es concordancia? Clases de concordancias, con algunos ejemplos. 

3. iQue es proposition? Diferentes clases de proposiciones. 

4. iCuales son las partes componentes de una proposition? 

5. iComo pueden ser el sujeto y el atributo en la oracion? 

6. iQue son complementos y que clase de complementos hay? 

7. La notitia que recibimos aver, fue desastrosa. El analisis de esta oracion por 
la naturaleza de sus verbos. 

8. Analisis logico de este mismo perfodo. 
t). Analisis por la ortografia. 

10. Analisis por lo concordancia. 



Appendix E. 

THE SCHOOL LAWS OF THE ISLAND OP PUERTO EICO. 

[Enacted by order of Gen. Guy V. Henry, Major-General Volunteers, commanding May 1, 1899.] 

San Juan, May 1, 1889. 
The following is a true copy of the original orders filed in the office of the bureau 
of education. , 

Victor S. Clark, 
Subdirector of Public Instruction. ' 

PART ONE. 

The organic law of school districts. 
[An order authorizing the establishment of school districts.] 

San Juan, May 1, 1899. 
The following law, authorizing the establishment of school districts in Puerto Rico, 
and providing regulations for conducting the business of the same, is hereby declared 
to be in operation in this island, dating from the day of its publication. 

Districts are urged to organize under this law, although it is permissive, not man- 
datory, and the people of Puerto Rico are assured that their success in conducting 
this fundamental though elementary form of _ self-government will do much to open 
the way to a broader exercise by them of similar powers. 
Very respectfully submitted. 

John Eaton, 

Director of Public Instruction. 
Approved. 

Francisco del Valle y Atile, 

Secretary of Interior. 
Approved. 

Guy V. Henry, 
Major-General Volunteers, Commanding. 



190 REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 

I. — Preliminary. 

(1) For school purposes the island of Puerto Rico is hereby declared to be divided 
into towns and barrios. 

A town is a center of population, of definite and circumscribed limits, having 200 
or more legal voters under the provisions of this act, and corresponding in general 
with the casco de poblacion of the Spanish law. 

A barrio is a country district, of definite limits, containing less than 200 legal 
voters under the provisions of this act. 

(2) School districts shall be of two kinds — town districts and barrio districts. 

(3) Every school district shall be conterminous with the barrio or barrios, or the 
town within which it is established, and is hereby declared to be a body corporate, 
with pover to contract or be contracted with, to sue or to be sued, in any court of 
this island having competent jurisdiction. 

Every school district shall be known by the name of the barrio or town within 
which it is established, but when it includes more than one barrio it shall take its 
name from the barrio within which the school is located. 

(4) The corporate powers of a district can be exercised only over schools within 
the territorial limits of that district. As a corporation its powers are independent 
of those of any other political or municipal corporation, and the present jurisdiction 
of municipal corporations in school affairs ceases, wherever districts are organized, 
with the perfection of such organization. 

(5) Every district shall hold, in the corporate name of the district, the title of 
lands and other property which are now owned, or may hereafter be acquired, for 
school purposes in such districts, and no property held by school districts for public, 
school purposes shall be subject to taxation. 

(6) The legal voters of any school district shall be persons of the age of 21 years 
and upward, of either sex, who are American citizens, who have resided in said 
district for the six months immediately previous to the signing of the petition for 
organization or for any school meeting, and who are able to read and write. 

II. — Organization. 

(1) The citizens of any barrio, any group of adjacent barrios, or any town may 
organize a school district conterminous with their barrio, barrios, or town in the fol- 
lowing manner: 

a. Five or more legal voters of the district to be established shall present to the 
governor-general of the island a petition setting forth the following facts : (1) The 
object of the petition; (2) the name of the barrio, barrios, or town in which they 
reside; (3) the number of persons residing in said district according to last official 
census; (4) the number of children of school age therein; (5) the assessed valuation 
of real property therein; (6) the names and locations of schools already established 
therein; (7) a description and valuation of school property owned by the proposed 
district; (8) the signature of the petitioners. 

b. The governor-general, upon receipt of said petition, will publish the same for 
three successive days in the Official Gazette, with an invitation to residents of the 
proposed district to present any objections they may have to its being granted. 

c. Within ten days of the third publication of the petition, the governor-general 
will establish the proposed district by announcement in the same publication, or com- 
municate his refusal to do so to the alcalde of the municipality within which the dis- 
trict would lie. 

(2) Where a district composed of more than one barrio desires to separate into two 
or more districts, or when two or more districts desire to unite to form one district, 
the same may be accomplished by petition, and the governor-general will announce 
in granting the petition such regulations for the division of school property held by 
the districts, or for the adjustment of their respective obligations in relation to prop- 
erty and bonds, as may seem to him advisable in each individual case. 

(3) When a district has been established, it shall be the duty of the alcalde of the 
municipality within which it lies, within three days of the receipt of the governor- 
general's announcement, to cause to be published by written notice, to be posted in 
at least three conspicuous places in the proposed district, the place and date of a dis- 
trict school meeting, or a district election, to occur within thirty days of the date of 
advertisement. If on account of accident or the negligence of voters such meeting 
or election does not occur at date and place announced, subsequent dates shall be 
similarly named by the alcalde, not more than ten days apart, until a legal meeting 
or election is effected. 

(4) When from default of legal voters or other reasons it seems advisable to the 
governor-general to disestablish a school district, he may do so, placing its schools 
under the immediate direction of the insular government. 






REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 191 

III. — Barrio districts, school meetings, powers of school meetings. 

(1) A district school meeting may be called by the alcalde of the municipality 
within which it is located, by the president of the board of trustees, or in case of his 
absence, by any trustee, by written notice, naming the place and date, posted in at 
least three conspicuous places in the district, 

(2) The legal voters of school districts when lawfully assembled, not less than five 
being present, shall have power by majority votes of those present — 

a. To appoint a moderator and a clerk pro tempore. 
6. To adjourn from time to time. 

c. To elect school trustees by ballot, 

d. To establish schools. 

e. To designate a site for a schoolhouse. 

/. To vote an amount of money to be raised by tax upon the taxable property of 
-the district. 

g. To authorize the trustees to raise such additional amounts of money as the 
district may determine. 

h. To repeal or modify their proceedings from time to time in accordance with the 
powers conferred by this act. 

(3) Whenever the purpose of a school meeting or election is to authorize taxation 
or the bonding of the district, such meeting or election shall not be legal for said 
purpose unless its object be advertised in the same manner as the time and place of 
meeting for at least thirty days previous. 

No district may levy a tax for more than 10 mills on the dollar, or bond itself for 
more than 10 per cent of its assessed valuation. 

IV. — Town districts, elections, powers of president. 

(1) The trustees of town districts shall be five in number, elected by twos and threes 
upon alternate years, and their term shall be two years or until their successors are 
elected. In the first election of any district two members shall be elected for two 
and three members for one year. 

(2) In addition to the powers hereinafter granted to district trustees by this act, 
the board of trustees of a town district shall exercise the powers granted to school 
meetings in barrio districts by the previous article of this law. 

(3) Regular annual meetings and elections shall be held the second Monday in 
July; special elections may be held by a call of trustess, approved by the secretary 
of the interior. 

(4) The method of electing trustees in town districts shall be determined by the 
bureau of education, acting under the authority of the secretary of the interior, sub- 
ject to the following limitations: 

a. The ballot shall be secret, according to the Australian system. 

6. The ballots shall be printed by the bureau of education and shall contain the 
names of all candidates for election as trustees who shall present petitions signed by 
twenty -five registered voters of the district to that effect, 

c. The election board, which shall preside at the voting table and count the vote, 
shall consist of legal voters appointed by the candidates for election, and each can- 
didate whose name appears upon the printed ballot shall appoint one member of the 
board. 

d. The printed ballots shall not indicate in any way the political part}' to which 
the candidates respectively belong. 

e. After the count is completed, the ballots shall be carefully packed in a sealed 
package and mailed to the bureau of education for preservation until the next election. 

/. By a majority vote the board of trustees may submit any question of taxation, 
bonding, or school policy to the voters at any regular or special election, and such 
question shall be printed upon the regular or special ballot, together with the names 
of the candidates, and the decision of the voters shall be binding upon the trustees. 

g. The bureau of education shall publish a handbook of information for voters at 
school elections to be distributed free to the legal voters of town districts, containing 
the detailed provisions for registration of voters and holding elections; and such 
handbook, when duly authorized by the secretary of the interior, shall have the 
same legal force as the other portions of this act. 

V. — District officers. 

(1) The officers of a school district shall be five trustees, who shall be legal voters 
residing in the district, who shall serve without compensation, and who shall be 
elected annually in barrios districts, or biennially in city districts, and serve until 
their successors are elected. 



192 REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 

(2) The trustees shall meet monthly or oftener, as required, and three shall con- 
stitute a quorum for the transaction of business. They shall elect from their own 
number a president, a clerk, and a treasurer of the district, to serve until their suc- 
cessors are appointed. 

(3) The president shall serve without compensation; he shall call the school meet- 
ings and trustees' meetings and preside at the same. In his absence any other trustee 
may perform his duties. 

(4) The treasurer of each district shall receive and pay out all moneys appropriated 
to or belonging to his district, and keep an accurate account of the public-school 
funds received from the insular treasury and of the district funds raised by tax, enter- 
ing in his books all receipts, so as to indicate the sources from which received and 
the objects to which made applicable; and disbursements shall be recorded so as to 
show for what purpose the money was paid. 

(5) The treasurer shall present and file with the clerk of his district, three days 
before his successor is elected, a report in writing, signed by him and containing a state- ' 
ment of all moneys received by him within the year preceding and of all his dis- 
bursements, exhibiting vouchers therefor; also the amount received by him of taxes 
assessed upon the taxable property of the district within the year, purposes for which 
they were assessed, the amounts assessed for each purpose, which report shall be 
recorded by the clerk and if it appears that there is any balance in the hands of 
the treasurer, he shall pay such balance into the hands of his successor as soon as he 
executes the bond required as a condition of holding the office of treasurer and his 
sureties justify on such bond. The president and clerk shall examine said report, 
and if correct they shall indorse the same and file a duplicate copy with the bureau 
of education. 

When said report is approved, as above stated, and indorsed, the voters at the annual 
meeting, or the trustees in town districts, may authorize the clerk to issue an order 
in favor of said treasurer to an amount not exceeding 2 per cent on all orders issued by 
the clerk and signed by the president and paid by said treasurer during the past 
school year. 

(6) The treasurer of each district shall execute a bond to the district in double the 
amount of money, as near as can be ascertained, which will come into his hands as 
treasurer during his term, with sufficient surety to be approved by the president and 
clerk, conditioned for the faithful discharge of his duties. Such bond shall be filed 
with the clerk of the district, and a duplicate copy with the signed approval of the 
president and clerk shall be filed with the bureau of education. 

In case of breach of any condition of said bond, the president shall cause an action 
to be commenced thereon and prosecuted in the name of the district, and the money 
when collected shall be applied to the use of the district. The treasurer failing'' to 
give bond, as provided herein, or for any cause being unable to attend to his duty, 
the trustees of the -district shall proceed to appoint another treasurer, who shall give 
bonds as required herein. 

Two-thirds of the voters of any district may petition the president and the clerk 
thereof to require of the treasurer new bonds under the terms of this section. On 
receiving such petition the president and clerk shall forthwith make such requisition. 
If the treasurer neglects to furnish new bonds within ten days, his office may there- 
after be declared vacant and be filled by appointment. 

(7) The clerk shall record the proceedings of the district meetings and of the board 
of trustees in a book provided for that purpose; he shall enter therein copies of his 
report made to the English supervisor or to the bureau of education, and keep and 
preserve all records, books, and papers belonging to his office, and deliver the same 
to his successor in office; he shall act as clerk of the district in all its meetings; or, 
if absent, record the minutes of the clerk pro tempore; his minutes shall show all 
disbursements authorized by the district meetings or by the trustees, and he shall 
keep an account of all expenses of the school and schoolhouse, and record the 
cost of outbuildings, fences, and all the conveniences of the schoolroom, such as 
charts, maps, blackboards, and school libraries provided by the district. He shall 
issue vouchers for all amounts owed by the district, as shown by the disbursements 
authorized in the minutes, when they become due, which vouchers when counter- 
signed by the president shall become orders upon the treasurer of the district for 
their face value. Each voucher shall be dated and numbered, and shall state the 
service or consideration for which it was drawn, and the name of the parties render- 
ing such service or consideration, and shall be recorded by the clerk in a book kept 
by him for that purpose. 

(8) The clerk shall give at least thirty days' notice of each annual meeting or school 
election, and each meeting for the authorization of taxation or bonds, and ten days' 
notice of all other meetings or elections, by posting three notices thereof in conspic- 
uous places in the district. 



REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 193 

Every notice of a special meeting or election shall set forth the object for which 
such meeting or election is called. In barrio districts special meetings for any pur- 
pose authorized by this act may be called on order of the trustees or by written 
request of any three voters of the district. Upon refusal of the clerk to call a meet- 
ing, or his neglect to do so for three days after receiving a written request from three 
voters, said three voters may call a legal meeting by posting written notices as indi- 
cated above. It is not necessary that the object of the annual meeting be specified 
in the notice calling it. . ] 

(9) Each district clerk shall, on or before the 10th of June of each year, make and 
transmit to the English supervisor of his municipality or supervising district a cer- 
tified report, on a blank prepared by the bureau of education and furnished by said 
English supervisor, showing the condition and value of school property, receipts from 
different sources, disbursements for different objects, and such other matters as the 
blanks may require. 

(10) The English supervisor and the alcalde in each municipality shall meet in the 
alcaldia of said municipality upon some day in the third week in June, and shall 
examine the reports of clerks of school districts of the municipality in order to ascer- 
tain respecting each report: 

a. Whether the cash items are recorded in their proper places; whether the finan- 
cial statement balances, and whether all questions in the report are correctlv 
answered. 

b. Whether the report was made within the time specified by law; and in case of 
any report sent by mail, it shall be deemed made when deposited in a post-office 
properly stamped and addressed to the English supervisor of the municipality or 
supervising district. 

(11) Every clerk whose report is found to be accurate and made within the time 
prescribed by law shall receive pay for such service at the rate of 2 per cent on the 
cash disbursements of the year, but the amount paid for this service shall not be more 
than $25. 

In case errors of a minor character occur in a report, evidently unintentional one- 
half the compensation otherwise paid may be paid the clerk, but this only in ca«e 
he corrects all such errors and returns the report corrected before the last week in 
June. 

The English supervisor immediately after the reports have been examined by him- 
self and the alcalde of the municipality shall send a written notice to every clerk 
found to be entitled to pay, stating such fact. Such notice shall be a voucher on 
which the treasurer of the district shall pay the clerk the sum due for such service 
out of any funds applicable to current expenses and not needed for the payment of 
teachers holding orders against or under contract to the district. 

VI. — District taxes. 

(1) All taxes levied by a district for public-school purposes shall be levied upon 
the real property of the district, and shall be assessed and collected by the same per- 
sons and m the same manner as municipal taxes, but the account of all such taxes 
shall be kept distinct from that of the municipal taxes, and from the accounts of 
other districts of the municipality, and the money may be spent only upon order of 
the district treasurer. In case the school taxes collected from any district do not 
amount to the sum required by the levy of the school meeting of the board of trustees 
the municipal treasurer shall at once notify the district treasurer and the bureau oi 
education of that fact, with full details of the persons defaulting in taxes and for what 
amount. District taxes shall have preference to municipal taxes, and in case of par- 
tial payment of taxes, said payment shall be applied to the district levy until it is 
satisfied, pending legal action for the collection of the remainder from the defaulting 
taxpayers. & 

(2) The clerk of each district shall, on or before the 15th of June of each year 
furnish to the alcalde of his municipality an attested copy of so much of his district 
record as will show the amount of money voted to be raised by the district for school 
purposes at any annual or special meeting during the year, and any amount levied by 
trustees under power conferred by this act, without the vote of the district 

(3) It shall be the duty of the alcalde to place on file the reports of the district 
clerks of his municipality, and to cause the amounts specified therein to be levied 
upon the taxable property of each respective district, and such taxes to be entered 
upon the assessment rolls as to indicate the special object for which each amount 
respectively is levied. 

But municipal officers, in entering such tax, shall not be required to use as a rate 
per cent any fractional part of a mill lower than one-fourth. 

12558 13 



194 REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 

(4) The secretary of finance shall notify each municipal alcalde, on the 1st of June 
of each year, or within three days subsequent to that date, of the tax necessary to be 
levied to pay principal and interest due upon district loans of each district of the 
municipality, and it shall be the duty of the alcalde to cause such tax to be 
entered with the other school tax of each district, in such manner as to have prefer- 
ence to all other items of said tax. 

(5) No tax can be levied for public-school purposes by any other authority other 
than that of the insular government or of the school district, nor can any district be 
bonded for school purposes in any other way than that authorized in this act; and 
no part of the municipal tax, levied by the municipality as distinct from the district, 
can be used for school purposes except as specially provided in this act. 

VII. — District bonds. 

(1) A majority of the legal voters of any district, at a special meeting or a special 
election called for that purpose, may authorize an issue of district bonds. A special 
meeting or a special election to authorize an issue of bonds may be called at any 
time, not a legal holiday, by a majority of the trustees of the district; but in town 
districts a majority of the municipal council must concur with the school trustees in 
the call for an election for this purpose, and their concurrence in said call shall be a 
legal approval by the municipality in its corporate capacity of the issue in question. 
The resolution submitted to the voters shall specify : 

a. The amount of the issue. 

b. The time it is to run. 

c. The exact purpose for which the proceeds shall be used. 

(2) Within three days of the passage of a resolution bonding a district, the trustees 
shall forward three attested copies of said resolution, with a statement of the vote 
thereupon, to the governor-general of the island, to be submitted by him to the sec- 
retary of finance, the secretary of justice, and the secretary of the interior, respectively. 

(3) Within ten days of receiving a copy of the resolution from the governor-gen- 
eral, each secretary shall render a written opinion upon the legality and advisability' 
of said issue to the governor-general, and the latter will thereupon legalize the issue 
by announcement in the Official Gazette, or if he refuses to do so, communicate that 
fact to the clerk of the district. 

(4) Within ten days of the publication of a notice legalizing any issue of district 
bonds, the secretary of justice shall forward to the clerk of the district engraved 
coupon bonds, as specified in the resolution of the district. Such bonds shall be in 
denominations of not less than $100 and not more than $1,000, coin of the United 
States, and shall be payable in five, ten, or fifteen annual installments of equal 
amount, and shall carry interest at 7 per cent. 

(5) Within ten days of receiving the bonds from the secretary of justice, the clerk 
of the district shall have the bonds, and each coupon of said bonds, signed by the 
officers of the board of trustees, and in town districts also by the alcalde of the 
municipality, and shall return said bonds to the secretary of finance. 

(6) Four times in each year and one month before the opening of the next bids for 
bonds, the secretary of justice shall cause to be published in the Official Gazette and 
in one daily paper of the capital and one daily paper of the city of New York an 
advertisement calling for bids for all district bonds that are in his hands unsold, 
stating in such advertisement the amount, period, and purpose of each district issue. 
Previous to the publication of such advertisement, a registry of all the bonds to be 
sold shall be made in duplicate by the bureau of education and the secretary of 
finance, such copy containing a copy of the district resolution authorizing such bonds, 
a copy of the official announcement of the governor-general legalizing such bonds, 
and a list and description of the bonds by number, together with a certification by 
the alcalde of the municipality within which the district is situated to the -signatures 
upon the same. 

(7) All bids for bonds shall be sealed, and shall be accompanied by a certified 
check for 10 per cent the face value of the bonds, to be forfeited if the bidder does 
not abide by the terms of his bid. All bids shall be opened at the office of the sec- 
retary of finance, at a time specified in the advertisement of the bonds, and in the 
presence of the secretary of finance, the secretary of justice, the secretary of the 
interior, and the director of public instruction, or the deputized representatives of 
each of these. The trustees of any district whose bonds are to be sold shall also be 
entitled to have a special representative pi-esent at the opening of the bids. Imme- 
diately after the opening of the bids the director of public instruction shall notify the 
clerk of each district at what premium, if any, the bonds of his district were sold, and 
the clerk shall enter this communication in his records. 



REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 195 

(8) No bid for less than the face value of the bonds shall be accepted. Where 
bonds are taken at a premium the amount of said premium upon the entire issue 
shall be deposited when received from the purchaser of the bonds in the insular 
treasury to the credit of the district issuing; and this money shall be deducted from 
the tax levied upon the district for the payment of principal and interest upon the 
bonds in question. The face value of the bonds shall be deposited in the insular 
treasury, and may be drawn against directly by the district treasurer, in the same 
manner as specified for district orders upon the municipal treasury, except that the 
secretary of finance shall recognize no order not issued for the payment of debts 
incurred in carrying out the purpose specified in the resolution authorizing the bonds. 

(9) District bond coupons shall be paid by the secretary of finance upon presenta- 
tion when due, and said secretary shall draw directly upon the municipal treasury 
involved for the same amount, which sum the municipal treasurer is authorized to 
pay without an order from the district clerk; but the municipal treasurer shall within 
ten days of payment forward to the clerk of the district in question a full statement 
of the transaction, indicating by number the bonds and the coupons upon which pay- 
ment was applied, and the district clerk shall enter the same in his records. 

(10) District bonds may be authorized only for the following purposes: 

a. To purchase a site for a schoolhouse. 

b. To erect, complete, or furnish a schoolhouse. 

c. To pay an indebtedness already incurred in erecting or furnishing a schoolhouse. 

d. To refund the district's indebtedness. 

VIII. 

(1) Whenever it shall become necessary for a school district to acquire a site for a 
schoolhouse or an addition to a schoolhouse site, and the same shall not be acquired 
by agreement with the owners thereof, the board of trustees of said district may prose- 
cute proceedings for the condemnation of said site and its appraisal by right of emi- 
nent domain, following the law of the land in such procedure. 

(2) All plans and designs for schoolhouses and for remodeling, adding to, or fur- 
nishing schoolhouses and the contracts for the execution of the same shall be approved 
by the bureau of education before they have legal force; and the bureau of education 
shall furnish plans and estimates for schoolhouses to school trustees upon application 
without charge. The director of public instruction or his deputy may, by a written 
order to that effect, stop payment upon any contract for construction, repair, or fur- 
nishing of a schoolhouse until satisfied that the terms of said contract are being prop- 
erly observed. 

(3) Where a district provides but one school, said school shall be open to both 
sexes, and the schoolhouse shall be entirely separate and upon different premises from 
the residence of the teacher of any other private family. 

(4) It shall be the duty of the board of trustees to keep the school buildings of 
their district in proper sanitary condition, to provide proper outhouses for the pupils, 
and to bring action to remove any nuisance or unsanitary condition upon neighboring 
property likely to endanger the health and comfort of pupils; and in case of delay in 
removing any nuisance or unsanitary condition upon neighboring property, where 
prompt action is imperative, after proper notification of the owner of said neighbor- 
ing property, the school trustees may take summary action to secure proper condition 
of the school surroundings, and the expense of the same shall be charged against the 
offending property and be legally collectable against the same. 

IX. — Actions. 

(1) The trustees of any school district organized in accordance with the provisions 
of this act may bring action in their corporate capacity in the following cases: 

a. On a contract made by them in their official capacity. 

b. To enforce a liability or a duty enforced by law in favor of such officers or their 
district. 

c. To recover a forfeiture or penalty given to such officers or their district. 

d. To recover damage for an injury to their official rights or to public school prop- 
erty of their district. 

e. To condemn land for public school purposes. 

/. To enforce the removal of a nuisance dangerous to the health or safety of pupils 
in the vicinity of public school buildings. 

(2) Action may be brought against a district upon a contract made by the trustees 
or for an injury to the rights of the plaintiff arising from some act or omission of the 
officers of the district. All actions involving a district shall be in the name of the dis- 



196 REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 

trict, and shall not be affected by a change of trustees. If a district be disestablished, 
the insular government will assume its obligations and prosecute its actions. 

(3) A judgment against a district shall be paid by the insular treasury, which will 
collect the same from the district in the same manner as interest and principal of dis- 
trict bonds is collected. The payment of the judgment shall be made upon presen- 
tation of the official copy of the judgment, certified by the secretary of justice, and 
shall be made from any funds available, at the discretion of the secretary of finance. 
A copy of the judgment and statement of its payment shall be forwarded to the clerk 
of the district by the secretary of finance, and said clerk will enter the same in his 
official records. 

X. — Penalties. 

(1) Any legal voter of a district may cause an action to be brought to enforce any 
of the following penalties by petitioning the governor-general in his own name, set- 
ting forth sufficient evidence of a violation of this act. The governor-general will 
refer the matter to the proper officers and court for investigation and prosecution. 

(2) The penalty for refusing to serve after accepting office as a trustee or officer of 
the board of trustees, shall be $10 in barrio districts and $25 in town districts, which 
sum shall be foi'feited to the municipal treasury for the use of the district. 

(3) In case an insular officer refuses or neglects to comply with a mandate of this 
law in a transaction affecting a district, he shall forfeit $50 to the municipal treasury 
for the benefit of the district, in the same manner. 

(4) A clerk may be fined $50 for the benefit of the district for neglecting to make 
out the reports required by law, or for drawing an illegal order upon the treasurer 
of his district or the secretary of finance, or for neglecting to keep his books and 
records properly. 

(5) The bureau of education shall have jurisdiction over teachers to the extent of 
dismissing them or canceling their titles for neglecting or refusing to comply with 
any provision of the school law. But where teachers through their neglect cause 
financial loss to a district, they shall be proceeded against by the district officers and 
damages collected in the courts of competent jurisdiction. 

Part two. — Laivs governing public instruction. 

I. 

An order defining public schools and the rights of pupils. 

(1) All schools supported by public taxation, either local or insular, shall be styled 
public schools, and admission to them shall be free and without charge to all persons 
between the ages of 6 and 18 years who are residents of the island. And it is for- 
bidden any teacher to accept fees for instruction given in public schools during school 
hours. 

(2) The teacher may suspend, and the board of education may permanently 
exclude, from public schools under their jurisdiction pupils of bad moral character, 
or who are insubordinate, or who possess or are exposed to infectious diseases. 

This order will go into effect July 1, 1899. 

II. 

An order defining the school year and its divisions. 

(1) The legal school day shall consist of two sessions of three hours each — from 8 
a. rn. to 11 a. m. and from 1.30 p. rn. to 4.30 p. m., respectively. 

(2) The school week shall consist of five school days. 

(3) The school month shall consist of four school weeks. 
(41 The school term shall consist of three school months. 

(5) The school year shall consist of three terms, to wit: 

A winter term, beginning the twelfth Monday before Holy Week. 

A spring term, beginning the Monday after Holy Week. 

A fall term, beginning the twelfth Monday before Christmas week. 

(6) The only days of the school term during which it shall be legal for teachers to 
close school shall be Saturdays and Sundays and those legal holidays established by 
the honorable secretary of justice in his order of April 11, 1899, approved by General 
Henry. 

This order will go into effect July 1, 1899. 

These holidays are the following: 

New Year's Day. 

Twenty-second of February (Washington's Birthday). 



REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 197 

Good Friday. 

Fourth of July (Declaration of Independence of the United States) . 
Christmas Day. 

And the day named as the National Thanksgiving Day by the President of the 
United States. 

III. 

An order establishing a graded system of schools in towns. 

On and after July 1, 1899, the present classification of schools shall cease to exist, 
and a system of _ rural schools and graded schools substituted therefor, in accordance 
with the following provisions: 

(1) All schools in barrios, villages, and country districts where it is not practicable 
for more than 50 pupils to attend at the same building shall be denominated rural 
schools, and in such schools the rural-school program, as authorized in the teachers' 
manual, shall be followed; and such schools shall be opened to children of both sexes. 

(2) Wherever the number of pupils exceeds 50 in any one building, and is less 
than 100 the teacher shall record the applications for admission in order as they 
are made, upon blanks furnished by the bureau of education for that purpose; 
but no teacher shall admit more than 50 pupils to his school, and he shall admit 
them in order of application. But if any pupil admitted shall be absent for two ses- 
sions any week, except on account of illness, or illness in his family, such pupil shall 
lose his place upon the roll, and be placed at the lower end of the list of applicants, 
and the applicant standing at the head of the list of those refused admission shall 
receive the seat thus vacated in the school. 

(3) When the number of applicants that can attend at the same building reaches 
100, two teachers shall be employed, and two rooms provided in the same build- 
ing if possible. In such cases the primary grade shall be taught by one teacher 
and the grammar grades by the other, and the same rules of recording applicants for 
admission in order and of excluding irregular attendants shall be followed as in case 
of rural schools. Similarly, additional teachers shall be employed, additional rooms 
provided, and the work graded for each teacher, with every additional 50 pupils, 
until there is a separate teacher and a separate room for all six grades provided for 
in the teachers' manual. 

(4) In schools where there are four grades or more the principal teacher shall ex- 
ercise supervising functions over all the grades of his schools, besides teaching the 
highest room. His official title shall be principal of the graded school, and his salary 
as provided in order No. 3 of the school laws. The duties of the principal shall be 
those outlined in the teachers' manual. 

(5) Wherever practicable the different grades of a school must be located in the 
same building. Schoolrooms provided by municipalities, whether for rural or graded 
schools, shall contain as a minimum 1J square meters of floor area for every pupil 
seated in the room. 

IV. 

An order prescribing a legal course of study for the public schools of Puerto Rico. 

(1) On and after the beginning of the fall term of 1899 the following course of study 
is authorized for the public schools of Puerto Rico. Public-school pupils are entitled 
to instruction in all the subjects herein named according to their grade and the pro- 
visions of this act, and teachers are forbidden to teach any study not herein authorized 
m public schools during legal school hours. 

(2) Pupils will be graded so far as possible into six grades, each representing one 
year's work. In the first and second years two recitations a day are required in each 
major subject taught; in other years one recitation a day is required in each major 
subject. But in rural schools where there are pupils of all six grades, the two highest 
grades may be combined for recitation purposes. 

(3) In rural schools each session shall be divided into nine twenty-minute periods, 
of which the last eight shall be devoted to major subjects. In town schools where the 
number of grades taught by a single teacher is not more than three each session shall 
consist of six thirty-minute periods, of which four at least shall be devoted to major 
subjects. 

(4) The major subjects taught in public schools shall be the following: 

(a) Spanish.— During the first two years reading and writing only shall be taught. 
During the last four years two periods a week will be devoted to language work in 
Spanish and Spanish grammar. As soon as the pupil has mastered the first difficul- 
ties of reading, his work in this subject shall be so directed as to develop literary 



198 REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 

taste, and wherever possible complete or abridged literary masterpieces shall be 
read. 

(b) English reading shall begin in the second year, but in town schools chart work 
shall be begun in English in the first year whenever the teacher has less than three 
grades. During the last four years English language lessons shall be taught two 
periods a week, where exact training in composition and the use of correct gram- 
matical forms will be taught through practice. In the last three years two periods a 
week shall be devoted to United States history and civil government as major sub- 
jects. Class work in English must be entirely in that language after the second year. 

(c) Arithmetic. — Number work during the first two years will be in Spanish and 
English. For commercial reasons, and because of the simple vocabulary required, 
the arithmetic of the last four years will be taught in English. The metric system 
will be used, the English tables being placed in the appendix of the text book for 
reference. The text book must contain a Spanish and English vocabulary. 

(d) Geography. — Oral geography may be taught as a minor subject during the first 
two years in graded schools where the teacher has not more than three grades under 
her charge. The text-book will be used during the last four years. Geography shall 
be taught in Spanish. 

(b) The minor subjects taught in public schools shall be the following: 

(a) Music. — Pupils will be required to learn the national airs by ear. Kindergarten 
motion songs will also be taught in lower grades. Where the teacher is competent 
to do so, or a supervisor of music is provided, note singing may be taught. 

(b) Drawing. — Where the teacher is competent to do so, or a supervisor of drawing 
is provided, drawing may be taught. Clay modeling and stick laying may be asso- 
ciated with drawing, wherever practicable, to develop the pupil's sense of form. 

(c) Manual training. — Where facilities are provided, and the teachers' time allows, 
plain needle work, sewing, and cutting may be taught girls, or sloyd work may be 
taught pupils of both sexes. Oral lessons in agriculture will be taught as heretofore. 

(a) Writing and spelling. — Ordinarily writing and spelling will be associated with 
the major subjects, reading and language work, in the two languages; but where the 
teacher has not more than three grades, or the time is not otherwise occupied by the 
major subjects, these subjects may be taught at separate periods. 

(e) Hygiene. — This subject is required and must be taught orally in all schools or 
from charts. In graded schools where teachers have not more than three grades a 
text book may be used. 

(/) Morals. — Morals as distinct from secular or religious teaching may be taught 
orally in schools. 

(6) The bureau of education, with the authority of the secretary of the interior, 
shall publish a teachers' manual for public schools of different grades, specifying in 
detail the subjects and the amount of each particular subject to be taught in the dif- 
ferent years, and the methods, books, and programmes to be used in teaching the 
same; and said manual, when authorized as above provided and published, shall have 
the same legal force as the other provisions of this act. 

V. 

An order determining the legal qualifications of teachers in the public schools, the secondary schools- 
and the University of Puerto Rico. 

On and after the beginning of the fall term of 1899, teachers in the public institu- 
tions of Puerto Kico must possess the following qualifications and the corresponding 
diplomas, issued by the bureau of education: 

(1) Every professor, instructor, or teacher of any grade teaching in the University 
of Puerto Rico or any allied professional school except the School of Commerce, who 
receives a salary from the public funds, must possess [a] a degree from a college or 
gymnasium of America or Europe or a diploma equivalent to such a degree, showing 
that he has completed satisfactorily a course of at least three years in subjects higher 
than the secondary school studies; and [&] a degree as doctor or an equivalent degree 
from a university of America or Europe of standing, showing that he has completed 
a course of at least two years in the special subject in which he will give instruction. 

(2) Every jarofessor, instructor, or teacher of any grade in any secondary school of 
Puerto Rico [normal school or high school] except critic teachers and teachers of 
drawing, sloyd, manual training, or music, must possess the qualifications stated in 
clause [a] of the first paragraph of this act. Critic teachers in normal schools must 
be graduates of normal schools where model-school work is done in connection with, 
professional training, or graduates of pedagogical courses in a college or university of 
repute with experience in model-school work. 

(3) English supervisors must be graduates of a university, college, or normal school, 



EEPOET OF BRIGADIER- GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 199 

or a secondary school preparing for the best American universities; and English must 
be their mother tongue. 

(4) Principals of graded schools must be college or normal-school graduates. 

(5) Graded school-teachers must be graduates of normal schools, or graduates of 
secondary schools preparing for the best American universities with at least one year's 
experience as a teacher. 

(6) Rural school-teachers must possess certificates granted by the bureau of educa- 
tion upon examination, in accordance with the regulations provided for by this act. 

(7) Any teacher possessing qualification for teaching in schools of a higher grade 
may teach in a school of a lower grade. 

(8) Certificates to teach shall be granted to candidates possessing the qualifications 
above provided, by the bureau of education, in accordance with the conditions herein 
established. Such certificates shall be valid for five years and may be reindorsed by 
the director of public instruction at the end of any five-year period for a term of equal 
length if the holder can produce satisfactory evidence that he has been engaged in 
school work, or has attended an institution of learning as a student, since the previous 
indorsement of his certificate. 

(9) All teachers not at present holding positions in Puerto Rico schools who shall 
hereafter be granted certificates to teach in any public institution of Puerto Rico 
shall present evidence of sufficient knowledge of Spanish and English to be able to 
teach in either of those languages. 

(10) It shall be illegal for any public official to pay money from the public funds 
for service as a teacher to any person not holding the certificates required by this act, 
and any public official so doing shall be personally liable for the money so paid. 

(11) On or before May 31, 1899, the bureau of education shall publish a plan for 
granting diplomas, conforming with the graduation established by this act, to teachers 
now employed in the public schools of Puerto Rico who hold legal titles under the 
Spanish law, and to English supervisors now holding appointments. The same bureau 
shall also provide for examinations for certificates under section six of this act, and 
regulations for conducting the same; and all such provisions shall become valid por- 
tions of this act when duly announced by the Secretary of the Interior. 

VI. 

An order determining salaries and payment of teachers. 

(1) English supervisors and graded school principals holding principals' diplomas 
shall receive seventy-five dollars ($75) per month for each month of actual service. 

(2) Graded school-teachers teaching in schools of four grades and upward in towns 
of more than five thousand inhabitants shall receive fifty dollars ($50) per month 
for each month of actual service. 

(3) Graded school-teachers teaching in schools of two grades and upward in towns 
of five thousand inhabitants or less shall receive forty dollars ($40) per month for 
each month of actual service. 

(4) Teachers in country schools (rural and auxiliary schools) shall receive thirty 
dollars ($30) per month for each month of actual service. 

(5) Salaries shall be payable at the close of each school month. 

(6) The discount for the teachers' pension fund shall be deducted from salaries 
before payment. 

This order will go into effect July 1, 1899. 

VII. 

An order providing free text-books for public schools. 

(1) All books and supplies owned by the municipalities and at present in use in 
the public schools shall be collected by the municipal school board of each munici- 
pality before July 1, 1899, and stored in the alcaldia or some other equally suitable 
place at the disposal of the bureau of education. 

(2) The bureau of education shall purchase under bid, and, loan to public-school 
pupils, the text-books necessary for school use, in accordance with rules and regula- 
tions authorized by the secretary of the interior upon the recommendation of the 
director of public instruction. 

The second part of this order will go into effect July 1, 1899. 

VIII. 

An order defining the relation of municipalities to public schools. 

(1) Municipalities must provide rooms for public-school purposes, and shall be 
required to provide separate residences for teachers. Wherever possible, municipali- 



200 REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 

ties shall provide public-school buildings, constructed and furnished according to 
plans authorized by the secretary of the interior, suitable for graded schools. 
Where municipalities provide such buildings additional teachers sufficient for six 
grades will be furnished as needed. 

(2) Municipalities must provide all supplies for schools excepting text-books, maps, 
and flags, so far as is necessary for the proper conduct of the school. But the bureau 
of education may provide such supplies and must provide them for municipal authori- 
ties at cost. 

(3) The authority at present exercised by municipal school boards shall not be 
limited or abridged in any way, except so far as specifically stated in this and the 
accompanying orders. Municipalities may provide additional schools, or provide for 
the opening of schools during vacations, or in any other way increase their educa- 
tional facilities from their public funds. 

This order will go into effect July 1, 1899. 

IX. 

An order granting additional powers to municipal school boards in the appointment of teachers 

On and after July 1, 1899, teachers in public schools may be appointed by municipal 
school boards, in accordance with the following provisions: 

(1) Municipal school boards may advertise vacancies in the schools under their 
jurisdiction in the Official Gazette at least ten days before electing teachers, with 
notification of the date and place of meeting. 

(2) At the legal meeting so set, two-thirds of the board being present, the mem- 
bers present may by a majority vote elect legally qualified teachers for the following 
school term or school year. But if the teacher elected is a relative within the third 
degree of any member of the school board, a three-fourths vote of those present shall 
be necessary to elect. 

(3) Immediately after the meeting the clerk of the board shall notify the director 
of public instruction, in writing, of the name of the teacher elected, for his approval. 

(4) When the director of public instruction has fully approved and attested to the 
legal qualifications of the teacher elected, the officers of the board shall sign a written 
contract, upon blanks furnished by the bureau of education for that purpose, as party 
of the first part, with the teacher as party of the second part, engaging him to teach 
for the following school term or school year, as provided at the meeting of the board. 
Such contract shall be in duplicate, one copy to be retained and filed by the clerk of 
the board, the other to be delivered to the teacher. 

(5) When a teacher, on account of illness or for any other reason of equal moment, 
is prevented from attending to his duties, the clerk shall immediately notify the 
director of public instruction of that fact, and said director shall upon receipt of such 
notification appoint a legally qualified substitute to serve until the regular teacher 
can resume his duties or .a successor is legally appointed by the municipal school 
board. 

(6) The director of public instruction may annul any contract between a school 
board and a teacher for cause, and, if the board neglects to fill the vacancy, may 
appoint a teacher for the remainder of the term or until a teacher is legally appointed 
by the board. The municipal school board may suspend a teacher from his func- 
tions for flagrant immorality or neglect, or for violating the school law, pending 
action by the director of public instruction. 



An order establishing high schools in Puerto Rico. 

(1) Wherever municipalities petition for such a school and provide not less than 
ten thousand dollars ($10,000) for the erection and furnishing of a building and a 
site for the same, high schools with graded schools attached will be provided by the 
insular government, with courses preparing for any American college or university, 
with a course in manual training, and with a course for teachers. 

(2) The building shall be planned, erected, and furnished, the course of studies 
determined, and the teachers appointed by the bureau of education, acting under 
the authority of the secretary of the interior. 

(3) All teachers employed in such schools shall be normal school or university 
graduates, familiar with American school methods, and the principals shall be compe- 
tent to teach the subjects required for admission to an American college or univer- 
sity of rank, and shall demonstrate this fact either by presenting a diploma from 



REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 201 

such a college or university or by examination. But these requirements may be 
waived in case of specially qualified teachers in special subjects, such as sloyd and 
mechanical drawing. Wherever Puerto Ricans possessing the above qualifications, 
and qualifications equal to those of other candidates, appear, they shall be preferred 
in making appointments. 

4. The insular appropriations for a high school with graded school attached is 
$5,000 per annum. 

XI. 

An order establishing a normal school of Puerto Rico. 

(1) Beginning with the fall term of 1899, or as soon thereafter as possible, a normal 
school of Puerto Rico will be opened. 

(2) The school will be located in some town of the island, to be determined by the 
secretary of the interior upon the town's making a satisfactory offer for the school. 

(3) The insular government will provide a building for the school and for a model 
school for practice, teaching to be connected with it. 

(4) The normal school will provide, in addition to the professional courses for 
teachers, a course preparing students to enter the University of Puerto Rico or uni- 
versities of highest standing in the United States. 

(5) Teachers employed in the normal school shall be familiar with American 
school methods and competent to place their departments upon an equality with 
those of any similar school of the States. Where native teachers possessing these 
qualifications apply, they shall be preferred in making appointments. 

(6) The appointment of teachers for the normal school, the regulations of courses 
of study and requirements for admission, and the executive administration of the 
school shall be under the direction of the bureau of education, acting with the 
authority of the secretary of the interior. 

(7) Tuition shall be free in the normal school for residents of Puerto Rico who are 
citizens of the United States. 

XII. 

An order authorizing the organization of professional schools of the University of Puerto Rico. 

(1) The bureau of education, acting under the authority of the secretary of the 
interior, is authorized to organize a school of pharmacy, a school of commerce, and 
such other professional schools as may be needed in this island and for which prop- 
erly qualified students may apply to be admitted, to be opened with the fall term of 
1899, or so soon thereafter as possible. 

(2) The schools of the university shall be located at San Juan. 

(3) Tuition shall be charged in professional schools. 

XIII. 

An order governing finances and accounts of the bureau of education. 

(1) All financial accounts of the bureau of education, including those for teachers' 
salaries and for text-books and school supplies, shall be kept in English, and in 
American money. 

(2) One-twelfth of the entire amount of the educational budget for the year shall 
be deposited with the government's bankers or financial agents by the proper officials, 
to the credit of the director of public instruction, on or before the 20th day of each 
month, and all payments from said budget shall be made upon order of the director 
of public instruction. 

(3) Within three days of the 1st of each month the director of public instruction 
shall render a detailed account of all moneys received and paid by him during the 
past month, and of all balances on hand or indebtedness at the beginning and close 
of said month, in duplicate, to the secretary of the interior and to the secretary of 
finance; and his report to the secretary of the interior shall be accompanied by 
receipts or vouchers for all payments. 

(4) The secretary of the interior shall issue vouchers for the payment of all salaries 
from the educational budget, except those of teachers in the common schools, at the 
close of each month of service, and the secretary of each municipal school board 
shall issue similar vouchers for the salaries of the teachers of his municipality at the 
close of each school month, and such vouchers, when presented by their lawful 
holders, shall be legal orders upon the director of public instruction for their face 
value. 

This order shall take effect May 1, 1899. The clause with reference to common- 
school teachers, in section 4 of this order, shall take effect July 1, 1899. 



202 REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 

Appendix G. 

Report op Maj. A. C. Sharpe, Acting Judge-Advocate of the Department of 
Puerto Rico, pertaining to the Administration of Civil Affairs for the 
Period ended September 30, 1899. 

Headquarters Department of Puerto Rico, 

Office of the Judge-Advocate, 
San Juan, P. E. , September 30, 1899. 
Adjutant-General, 

Department of Puerto Rico. 

Sir: In compliance with communication from your office dated August 21, 1899, I 
have the honor to submit the following report of the business of this office (pertain- 
ing to the administration of civil affairs in this department) from the period from 
January 16, 1899 (date of my arrival for duty at these headquarters), and ending 
this date. 

In this connection I desire to state that although some reference is made in this 
report to the hostile attitude assumed by the local authorities (especially the depart- 
ment of _ justice) , and to the almost continuous opposition encountered where efforts 
were being made to amend or replace the existing laws and systems of administra- 
tion by methods and rules more in accordance with American principles and the 
changed conditions, I am of the opinion that this hostility and opposition was not due 
to animosities toward the new government and its representatives, but rather to a 
natural aversion to all innovation and the inability to properly understand the mean- 
ing, intent, and principles of the changes contemplated. 

The differences of language, laws, customs, etc. , were also strong factors in giving 
rise to the objections urged by the parties through whom the administration endeav- 
ored to introduce the much needed reforms. 

PRISONS, PRISONERS, AND CRIMINAL PROCEEDINGS. 

The inadequate system of prison administration and the miserable conditions to 
which the inmates of these institutions were subjected having become a matter of 
urgent consideration, I was charged by the commanding general to examine into the 
merits of a large number of complaints regarding the mismanagement of prisons, ill 
treatment to which prisoners were subjected, and the improper performance of duty 
on the part of jail officials and employees. 

Investigation soon satisfied me that immediate measures for the suppression of 
existing evils were an absolute necessity, and I therefore recommended to the com- 
manding general the appointment of a jail inspector for the special work of investi- 
gation and reporting upon conditions and recommending the necessary action. An 
inspector was accordingly named, and his investigations soon revealed a most deplor- 
able state of affairs. 

The unsettled state of the country, resulting from the war, and the slow and dila- 
tory methods of procedure in the local tribunals, made it evident that the majority 
of cases on the dockets would not be reached for many months to come. The jails 
were crowded with prisoners of both sexes and of all ages and classes, the majority 
of whom had been held for many months, many of them for years, on petty or 
trifling charges, or no charges at all; and even where a clear case existed and the 
prisoner confessed his guilt and begged for a trial no apparent effort was made to 
dispose of it. More than 3,000 prisoners were thus held, over 70 per cent of whom 
had never had a judicial hearing. 

From the inspector's reports lists were prepared of prisoners who were held for 
minor offenses and who had already been sufficiently punished, and submitted to the 
commanding general with recommendation that they be at once set at liberty. 

These lists having been transmitted to the department of justice for necessary 
action and report, the secretary replied, protesting against the interference of this 
office in a matter that pertained exclusively to his department, and declaring that 
the courts were fully able to dispose of their dockets; that the reports of the inspector 
were either false or exaggerated, and declaring ' ' that in the prisons of Puerto Rico 
there was no prisoner who should not be there." 

Regardless of these assertions, the secretary ordered a wholesale jail delivery, and 
several hundreds of prisoners, many of them charged with grave crimes, were lib- 
erated with not even so much as a hearing having been had in the cases against 
them. The dismissal of the jail inspector was also demanded, in order to shut off 
further investigation and exposure. 

In order, however, that the needed reforms might be effected through the proper 
channels, i. e., the courts of justice, and with a view of placing in the hands of these 



REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 203 

courts (in place of the prevailing slow and ineffective methods) a system of proce- 
dure which would enable them to mete out justice in a more expeditious manner, I 
addressed a letter to the commanding general under date of March 18, 1899, in which, 
among others, I made the following recommendations: 

1. That trials in secret be abolished and all criminal trials conducted in public. 

2. That the daily hours of court be of reasonable and sufficient duration. 

3. That all cases of petty larceny and other minor offenses be disposed of before a 
police court, instead of by the slow process of a criminal court requiring several mag- 
istrates and other functionaries. 

4. That all cases be brought to trial within three days after arrest. 

5. That in case of conviction sentences begin to run from the date of arrest. 

6. That judgment be not taken under advisement but rendered instanter. 

7. That in case of acquittal the prisoner be released at once. 

8. That effective methods be devised to secure attendance of witnesses. 

9. That provisions be made to punish witnesses for contempt of court. 

10. That court officers be held responsible for the proper performance of their 
duties and enforcement of court rules. 

11. That police or similar courts be appointed. 

12. That all witnesses be made to give their evidence under oath. 

13. That penalties be provided for perjury. 

14. That all judicial and court officers be required to give bond for the proper 
performance of their duties. 

15. That provisions be made to punish bribery and other corrupt practices in the 
courts. 

16. That no prisoner be released without a hearing and verdict. 

Even these simple rules were met with the strongest protests and objections on the 
part of the authorities concerned, being considered by them a reflection on the effi- 
ciency of the courts, and inapplicable here for many alleged reasons. The department 
of justice having succeded in its protests before the department commander (General 
Henry) , this measure of reform as suggested was allowed to drop. 

Investigations continued, however, and revealed in every jail the same unhappy 
conditions. 

About this time the present department commander arrived, and I seized an early 
opportunity to bring this matter to his notice, and after mature consideration it was 
determined to bring the administration of prisons into the hands of a special bureau, 
and a board of prison control and pardons was accordingly established by the follow- 
ing order: 

General Orders, \ Headquarters Department op Puerto Eico, 

No. 77. J San Juan, P. R., June 12, 1899. 

I. On and after June 15, 1899, the jails of this island will be under the manage- 
ment of a board of prison control. 

II. This board will be composed of five members, as follows: 
Hon. Jose Severo Quihones, president of the supreme court. 

Maj. A. C. Sharpe, inspector-general, U. S. V., acting judge-advocate. 
Maj. L. P. Davidson, TJ. S. V., commanding Puerto Bican Battalion. 
Hon. Eafael Eomeu y Aguayo,fiscal of the supreme court. 
Hon. Manuel F. Eossy, lawyer. 

III. Three members will constitute a quorum. The first member named herein 
will preside. In his absence the board will choose a temporary chairman. 

IV. The board will meet at San Juan on the first Monday in each month and at 
such other times as it may desire. 

V. The board will also act as a board of pardons, to whom all applications for par- 
don, remission or mitigation of punishment of prisoners will be submitted, and its 
recommendations transmitted to the commanding general for his action. 

VI. The board will meet as soon as practicable to prepare and submit to the com- 
manding general regulations covering the administration of prisons, the supply of 
food, clothing, arM medical attendance of prisoners, as well as for the maintenance, 
repair, and construction of jail buildings. 

VII. The inspector of jails will act as secretary and interpreter for the board. 
By command of Brigadier-General Davis: 

W. P. Hall, Adjutant-General. 

- [Amendment.] 

General Orders, "I Headquarters Department op Puerto Eico, 

No. 100. j « San Juan, P. R., July 15, 1899. 

First Lieut. James J. Hornbrook, Fifth United States Cavalry, is appointed secre- 
tary and treasurer of the board of prison control, established by General Orders, No. 



204 REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 

77, current series, these headquarters, and so much of Paragraph VII of that order 
as relates to the secretary of the board is revoked. Lieutenant Hornbrook will 
report to the president of the board. 
By command of Brigadier-General Davis: 

W. P. Hall, Adjutant- General 

The results derived from the creation of this board are most satisfactory. The 
expenditures for the administration of prisons have been greatly reduced, the status 
of the prisoners immensely improved, unnecesary officials and employees discharged, 
and the systems of reports and returns introduced by the board has enabled it to 
handle this important branch of the administration with ease and with justice to all 
concerned. 

_ The board has also established shops in the penitentiary for instruction of the con- 
victs in shoemaking, tailoring, carpentering, and other useful trades. 

Many prisoners held without charges or for light offenses have been liberated, the 
courts have been stimulated to clear their dockets, and the number of prisoners 
which six months ago was over 3,000, crowding the jails to suffocation, is at the 
present date reduced below 900. The number of jails has also been reduced from 
eleven to five, effecting a corresponding saving in salaries and other expenses; two 
companies of the Puerto Rico Battalion furnish guards for the penitentiary and for 
the important jails of San Juan and Mayaguez, replacing the civil guards and effect- 
ing an additional large saving in the item of salaries. The governor-general has also 
approved the application of the board for the detail of a company of the Puerto 
Rico Battalion at the Ponce jail. In some places where rent was being paid for the 
use of private or city buildings as jails the board has arranged, with the approval of 
the governor-general, to move into government buildings which could be fitted up at 
small expense, thus saving the expense of heavy rents. The sanitary condition of 
the jails, which was indescribably filthy and horrible, has also received the careful 
attention of the board. 

Inefficient jailers have been replaced by better men, a system of jail regulations 
has been adopted (copy hereto appended marked A) , and great progress made along 
the lines toward placing the penitentiary and jail system of the island on a sanitary, 
decent, and humane basis. 

Many of the prisoners now serving sentence not having been sentenced to hard 
labor, and a conflict of opinion having arisen among the Puerto Rican members of 
the judicial board as to the authority of the courts under the existing penal code to 
include hard labor in certain cases, the following order was prepared by the judge- 
advocate and submitted to the commanding general for his approval. 

General Orders, \ Headquarters Department of Puerto Rico, 

No. — . j San Juan, P. R. , September — , 1899. 

I. In all cases wherein, under the penal code now in force, the tribunals of justice 
may impose imprisonment as a punishment for crime, said tribunals are hereby 
authorized to add the imposition of hard labor to such punishment during the term 
of imprisonment, whenever in their judgment the imposition of such labor may be 
advisable. 

II. The court shall include in its sentence the designation of the jail wherein 
prisoners sentenced to less than six months shall serve their terms of imprisonment, 
but the place of confinement of such prisoners may be changed by the board of 
prison control, where the jail is crowded or for other good cause. 

III. All persons hereafter sentenced by the United States provisional or insular 
courts to imprisonment for a longer term than six months as a punishment for crime 
shall be imprisoned within the penitentiary at San Juan, and shall be subject during 
such imprisonment to all the rules and regulations of said penitentiary. 

IV. Laws, orders, or decrees, or parts thereof, inconsistent with the provisions of 
this order are hereby repealed. 

By command of Brigadier-General Davis: _ 

W. P. Hall, Adjutant-General. 

HABEAS CORPUS. 

In connection with prison matters the question of the introduction of the writ of 
habeas corpus was also considered. 

The large number of prisoners held in the various jails of the island who claimed 
to be unlawfully deprived of their liberty suggested the idea, and I was directed by 
the department commander (General Henry) to prepare a plan «for its introduction. 

It being evident that the local courts, on account of their unfamiliarity with its 



REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 205 

principles and purposes, would be unable to properly introduce the writ, I submitted 
the following: 

Headquarters Department of Puerto Rico, 

Office of the Judge Advocate, 

San Juan, P. R., April 11, 1899. 
Department Commander. 

Sir : In compliance with indorsements from your office of March 27 and 29 ultimo, 
on the subject of habeas corpus, I have the honor to submit the following : 

Article I, section 9, paragraph 2, of the Constitution of the United States, reads 
as follows: 

" The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspended, unless when 
in cases of rebellion or invasion the public safety may require it." 

This constitutional right, which has been known in England for several centuries, 
and is one of the fundamental principles of our own Government, is unknown to 
Spanish law. As there are several hundred persons in confinement in the jails of 
this island, very many of whom are held for trifling offenses, and as this state of 
affairs is liable to indefinitely continue under existing conditions, I have the honor 
to recommend the adoption and publication of the following: 

1. The president of a military commission or general court-martial, or any post 
commander, shall have power to issue writs of habeas corpus for the purpose of 
inquiring into the cause of restraint of liberty. 

2. Application for the writ of habeas corpus shall be made to such president or 
commander by complaint in writing, setting forth the fact of detention of the party 
detained, in whose custody he is detained, where and by virtue of what charge or 
authority, if known. The complaint shall be signed by the prisoner for whose 
release it is intended. 

3. The president or commander to whom such application is made shall forthwith 
award a writ of habeas corpus, which writ shall be directed to the person in whose 
custody the party is detained, and served at once by an officer or noncommissioned 
officer who shall be detailed for the purpose by the post or camp commander 
nearest the place of detention. 

4. Any person to whom such writ is directed shall make due return thereof within 
three days thereafter, unless the party detained is beyond the distance of 20 miles, 
and if beyond that distance, within ten days. 

5. The person to whom the writ is directed shall certify to the president or com- 
mander before whom it is returnable the true cause of detention of such party. 

6. The person making the return shall bring the body of the party before the 
president or commander who granted the writ. 

7. When the writ is returned a day shall be set for hearing the case, not exceeding 
three days thereafter, unless the party petitioning requests a longer time. 

8. The petition of the party in prison may deny the facts set forth in the return, or 
may allege any other facts that may be material in the case; said denials or allega- 
tions shall be under oath, which shall be administered by a judge-advocate of a mili- 
tary commission or general court-martial. 

9. The president or commander shall proceed in a summary way to determine the 
facts in the case by hearing the testimony and the arguments. 

10. In all cases of misdemeanor or petty larceny where, in the opinion of the presi- 
dent or commander, the accused party has been sufficiently punished, or where there 
is no reasonable ground to believe the prisoner guilty, he shall be released. In all 
other cases the prisoner shall be admitted to bail, the amount of which shall be fixed 
by the president or commander. 

11. The president or commander shall in each case certify his action to the person 
having custody of the prisoner, who shall comply with said order, and it shall be his 
authority and protection therefor, and shall be so recognized by the courts; and in 
cases of bail shall certify the amount fixed by him to the court having jurisdiction of 
the case. Upon receipt of such certification the prisoner shall forthwith be released, 
upon furnishing the bail so fixed by the president or commander. 

12. Petitions to obtain reduction of bail on habeas corpus should be framed with a 
view to that relief, and complaint that the amount required is excessive. Where no 
such complaint is made in the petition and no testimony is adduced, the president or 
commander will not make any inquiry as to whether the bail is excessive or not. 

13. A prisoner will not be discharged from custody for mere irregularities or ille- 
galities if in the opinion of the president or commander before whom he appears 
there are sufficient reasons to create a reasonable belief of his guilt. 

It appears by recent communications received at this office that excessive bail is 
demanded in some cases. It is a well-established principle under our law that "a 
prisoner committed for failure to procure bail which appears excessive possesses the 



206 REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 

right to be brought before a court on habeas corpus, and to have the sum. reduced if, 
under all the circumstances, it is thought too large." 

I have prepared in both English and Spanish and inclose herewith copies of forms 
of writs which may facilitate the introduction of the American system in this 
matter. 

Very respectfully, _ A. C. Sharpe, 

Major and Inspector-General, U. S. V., Acting Judge-Advocate. 

This was referred to the department of justice for consideration, and after consid- 
erable delay returned with many objections, chiefly that such authority belonged 
exclusively to the courts and should not be intrusted to military men. Although it 
was plainly evident that little or no result could be achieved through the channels 
indicated by the secretary of justice, for reasons already stated, it was finally deter- 
mined, in order not to abandon all hope of establishing the writ, and to pave the 
way more effectually for its use by the United States provisional court, the creation 
of which was then in contemplation, to issue an order investing the local courts with 
the power to issue it. This was done by the following general orders, which were 
first submitted to the secretary of justice and at his request issued upon his recom- 
mendation : 

General Orders, \ Headquarters Department of Puerto Rico, 

No. 71. / San Juan, P. P., May 31, 1899. 

Upon the recommendation of the secretary of justice the following is promulgated: 

I. Any justice of the supreme court of Puerto Rico, or of any audiencia, or any 
judge of instruction, shall issue the writ of habeas corpus on the petition of any person 
who is restrained of his liberty within their respective judicial districts. But when 
such Avrit so issuing from such court is served upon any person who holds a prisoner 
subject to United States authority, the body of the prisoner will not be produced, 
but respectful return will be made setting forth that the prisoner is held under color 
of the authority of the United States, and that therefore the court issuing the writ is 
without jurisdiction, and praying that the writ be therefore dismissed. 

II. Upon ascertainment by such judge or court issuing the writ that such return 
is true in fact, the writ shall be dismissed. 

III. The secretary of justice will see that this order is duly observed. Instruc- 
tions, approved by the commanding general, and printed blank forms will be sup- 
plied upon application to the secretary of justice. 

By command of Brigadier-General Davis: 

W. P. Hall, Adjutant-General. 

While the fears expressed regarding the carrying out of this constitutional right 
by the local courts have been realized in some cases, it can be safely stated that the 
innovation has borne good results, and especially so since the establishment of the 
provisional court. 

practice op law by foreign lawyers. 

Under date of February 25, 1899, a number of Spajnish lawyers, residents of Puerto 
Rico, petitioned the governor-general against a decision of the department of justice, 
denying to them the right to practice before the local courts unless they renounce 
their Spanish citizenship. 

The matter having been referred to this office for opinion, it was returned with the 
following indorsement: 

Office of the Judge-Advocate, 

Department of Puerto Rico, 
San Juan, P. P., March 4, 1899. 
Respectfully returned, etc. 

In the celebrated case of Bradwell v. The State of Illinois (16 Wall. , 130) the Supreme 
Court of the United States held as follows: 

' ' The right of admission to practice in the courts of a State in no sense depends on 
citizenship of the United States. It has not, as far as we know, ever been made in 
any State or in any case to depend on citizenship at all. Certainly many prominent 
and distinguished lawyers have been admitted to practice, both in the State and 
Federal courts, who were not citizens of the United States or of any State. ' ' 

In view of this clear and pointed decision it appears that these gentlemen should 
not be debarred from practicing in the courts of this island, provided they furnish 
proper guaranties of capacity, fidelity to courts and clients and the administration of 
justice, and to the Constitution of the United States. 

These guaranties are found in the required-license and oath of admission. 

A. C. Sharpe, 
Major and Inspector-General, U. S. V., Acting Judge- Advocate. 



REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 207 

These views having been opposed by the secretary of justice, the commanding 
general referred the whole matter to the War Department for further consideration. 
It was received back some weeks later, sustaining the above opinion. 

The decision of the Washington authorities having been communicated to the 
department of justice, there appeared over the secretary's signature in the Official 
Gazette of Puerto Kico, under date of April 18, a judicial order granting foreign lawyers 
the privilege to practice for the period of one year (to enable them to- close their 
pending business) . 

This limitation of time brought forth renewed protests from the Spanish lawyers. 
The matter was again referred to this office, and the following order was then pre- 
pared and submitted for the approval of the department commander and published: 

General Orders, \ Headquarters Department of Puerto Pico, 

No. 69. j San Juan, P. P., May 24, 1899. 

Authority having been granted by the War Department to Spanish lawyers, here 
resident, to practice their profession in this island, the limitation of one year imposed 
by paragraph 1 of judicial order of April 18, published in No. 95 of the Official 
Gazette, is hereby rescinded, and their right to practice law is guaranteed without 
limitation of time. 
By command of Brigadier-General Davis. 

W. P. Hall, Adjutant-General. 

ABOLITION OP UNNECESSARY PUBLIC OFFICES. 

The excessive number of public offices characteristic of the Spanish regime (a 
majority of which had been continued after the American occupation) being a great 
drain upon the insular treasury, I resolved to investigate the advisability of their 
reduction. 

The policy of the Administration being to effect all changes through gradual and 
temperate means, in order that the public might not be aroused by sudden or appar- 
ently arbitrary innovations, conferences were held with the local authorities, and 
after a successful effort to demonstrate the uselessness of certain offices I made recom- 
mendations accordingly. 

Among the number abolished was the antiquated post of court physician, an office 
unknown under our law, and which under the former regime was not maintained 
because of its necessity, but, like many others, was simply maintained as a reward 
for political services rendered. 

The office of jail chaplain was in like manner discontinued. Under the former 
Government the only religious services held in the prisons of the island were those of 
the Roman Catholic faith, performed by the regularly appointed jail chaplains, and 
it was with a view to remove discrimination in favor of any particular church and to 
grant the many requests made by ministers of other denominations to be permitted 
to hold free services in the jails that the following order was prepared and submitted 
for the commanding general's approval: 

General Orders, \ Headquarters Department of Puerto Rico, 

No. 72. J San Juan, P. R., June 2, 1899. 

I. On and after July 1, 1899, the office of court physician (medico forense) shall 
cease to exist. 

II. The duties heretofore pertaining to the office of the court physician shall be per- 
formed by the municipal physician (medico titular) of the district in which the case 
or subject for medical examination arises. 

III. On and after June 10, 1899, the office of chaplain in the jails of this island 
shall cease to exist. Religious services may be conducted in the penitentiary or in 
any jail by a priest or minister of any religious society or denomination upon appli- 
cation to the warden twenty-four hours in advance of the proposed services. Sick 
prisoners will be permitted to receive visits from ministers or priests upon application 
to the warden. 

By command of Brigadier-General Davis. 

W. P. Hall. 

GARNISHMENT OF SALARIES OF PUBLIC EMPLOYEES. 

Under the protection of local laws it was the custom under the Spanish Govern- 
ment for business men to give credit, for a heavy discount, to the full amount of the 
salaries of public employees. As a result money was seldom paid into the hands of 
the wage-earners, but the amounts due them turned over to the creditors and the 
receipts for the sums thus paid delivered to the employees. 

Several attempts to continue this practice under the present administration gave 
rise to numerous complaints on the part of disbursing officers, who appealed to the 



208 REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 

commanding general for decision regarding the service of numerous writs of attach- 
ment made upon them. 

A communication from the officer in charge of harbor works at San Juan relating 
to this matter having been referred to this office for recommendation was returned 
with the following indorsement, which was subsequently published in General Orders, 
No. 78, current series, Department of Puerto Rico, as the means of suppressing the 
inconvenience: 

Office of the Judge-Advocate, 

Department of Puerto Rico, 
San Juan, P. R., May 31, 1899. 
It appears that Lieutenant Jones is merely acting as the agent of the Government, 
and he is therefore not subject to garnishment. It is held by the weight of judicial 
authority that the embarrassment and delay in the administration of civil affairs 
likely to ensue from submission to such process is sufficient reason to hold the Gen- 
eral Government and that of the several States exempt. 

A. C. Sharpe, 
Major and Inspector-General, U. S. V., Acting Judge- Advocate. 

MARRIAGE AND DIVORCE. 

Very early after entering upon my duties at these headquarters my attention was 
called through numerous petitions praying for dispensations from the exactions and 
limitations of the law to the subject of marriage and divorce. 

I also discovered that a very large percentage of the poorer classes were living in 
concubinage, attributable, it was alleged, to the extravagant fees imposed for the 
performance of the marriage ceremony. 

A conservative estimate would probably number 50 per cent of the population of 
Puerto Rico as of illegitimate birth. 

In consideration of many requests that the questions of marriage and divorce be 
regulated in accordance with American ideas and methods, and with a view to dis- 
courage illicit cohabitation and to enable all persons so living to legalize such alliances 
and legitimatize their offspring, the department commander (General Henry) charged 
the secretary of justice with the revision of the laws on these subjects and the 
preparation of an order that would meet the wants of the people. 

An order was accordingly prepared by the secretary and referred by the department 
commander to this office for examination and report, but before it could be examined 
the order was published in the Official Gazette March 24, 1899, the morning after its 
reference to this office. 

The provisions of this order as submitted and published being so at variance with 
the ends desired (practically a reprint of the former Spanish laws) , I submitted to 
the commanding general a letter, from which the following extracts are taken, sug- 
gesting the adoption of such changes as would bring the order into harmony with the 
better system of some of the States of the American Union: 

Office of the Judge-Advocate, 

Department of Puerto Rico, 
San Juan, P. R., March 24, 1899. 
Commanding General, Department of Puerto Rico. 

Sir: I observe in this morning's issue of the Official Gazette an order relating to 
marriage and divorce, and respectfully invite your attention to the following in 
connection therewith : 

* * * * * * * 

Paragraph 3 forbids priests, ministers, and others to marry whose religious faith 
prohibits wedlock. This is unconstitutional. The Federal and all State constitutions 
of the Union expressly "guard against the slightest approach toward the establish- 
ment of any inequality in the civil and political rights of citizens which shall have for 
its basis only their differences of religious belief." (Cooley's Constitutional Limita- 
tions, 571.) 

Subheads 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, and 11, relating to consanguinity and convicts, are a reprint 
of the existing Levitical prescriptions of the Codigo Civil. 

******* 

The penitentiary is supposed to reform men; they are taught trades, etc., and if 
pardoned out, or when released at the expiration of time, they are given a decent 
suit of clothes and encouraged to lead a decent and respectable life, a wife and children 
may help a man to reform and lead a respectable life. 

Paragraph 6 leaves the determination of the age of the parties to the officiating 
clergyman or magistrate and provides no penalty for error. 



EEPORT OF BEIGADIER-GENEEAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 209 

Paragraph 7. Witnesses are required to give oath in the form prescribed by their 
religion. If they profess no religion, or their religion prescribes no form, this oath 
should be provided for. All legal oaths should be judicial — not prescribed by any 
religious faith. 

It is not practicable for a witness to give testimony under oath that the contracting 
parties are not incapacitated. It is manifestly impossible for anyone, except asurgeon, 
to swear that a woman is or is not barren. It would be merely an opinion based on 
nothing. 

Paragraph 9. Where signatures are necessary, illiterate persons should be required 
to make their mark, witnessed. 

Paragraph 11. Whether a marriage is inscribed in the register or not, its effects, 
on satisfactory proof of marriage, should not be impeached. Heirs should not be 
absolutely estopped and lose their rights because their parents neglected to register 
their marriage, if such marriage can be established by satisfactory evidence. 

Paragraph 12 (2). "Marriages contracted are to be authenticated in the manner 
prescribed" by preexisting law. A number of soldiers, one or more officers, and 
others have been recently married here by Chaplain Brown and others, and in one 
case by a magistrate or alcalde. 

Such cases should be exempted and permitted to register as prescribed in para- 
graph 10. 

Paragraph 15 fixes "the day following" as the wedding day. This is in contra- 
vention of the civil rights of the parties; they fix the day themselves by mutual 
agreement or understanding with the minister or magistrate. - 

Paragraph 17, subhead 2. "The secretary shall read aloud-articles 56 and 57 of the 
civil code," etc. Article 57 of the civil code is as follows: "El marido debe proteger 
a la mujer, y esta obedecer al marido." Obedience or subjection to the will of the 
husband is a religious idea, and is imposed by the ceremonial of the Christian 
churches, both Protestant and Roman, but it is nowhere required or recognized by- 
law. Marriage, in the eye of the law, is merely a civil contract into which both 
parties enter on an equal footing. 

So far as the obligations of support, comfort, and forbearance with each other are 
concerned, they are mutual. Obedience, required by law, puts into the hands of the 
husband the right to enforce it. This discourages marriage and is a direct cause for 
concubinage. But, aside from public policy, it is a religious tenet, pure and simple, 
and can not be enforced by law, as it violates the constitutional protection guaran- 
teed to women in their civil rights. Reference in this order to article 57 indicates 
that it is still in force. Being contrary to American law, it was abolished by Gen- 
eral Orders, No. 1, series 1898. 

Paragraph 18. "In purely civil marriages," etc* This is unconstitutional, dis- 
criminating for or against contracts made according to a religious belief or faith. 
The religious aspect of a contract can not be recognized by law under our Constitu- 
tion. If a court can grant an absolute divorce in one case, it can do so in all cases, 
the causes being sufficient. 

Paragraph 19 (1). "Adultery of the woman; (2) adultery of the man with public 
scandal," etc. This is a discrimination against the civil rights of the woman because 
of her sex. Adultery, without qualifying words, is cause for divorce, whether com- 
mitted by the man or the woman. 3. (Cruelty to the woman when this is physical.) 
Cruelty of any kind is cause for divorce. * * * 

This whole paragraph, and indeed this whole order, is almost a literal copy of the 
old Spanish law. 

******* 

All local laws in conflict with our Constitution cease to exist the moment United 
States sovereignty is exercised over the newly acquired territory. If the Executive 
has authority (as a conquering nation and hi the absence or recess of the Legislature) 
to establish laws for the new possessions until Congress can act — and I am clearly of 
the opinion that it has — then it would seem safe to follow some of the simple 
and humane codes of our enlightened States of the Union, with slight changes of 
phraseology to adapt them to the circumstances, rather than to perpetuate a system 
so entirely out of harmony with Western civilization. 

******* 
Very respectfully, 

A. C. Sharpe, 
Major and Inspector- General, U. S. V., Acting Judge-Advocate. 

No action was taken in this matter, the secretary of justice declaring that his order 

was entirely satisfactory to the people and hailed with delight throughout the island. 

Complaints and petitions continued to pour in, however, and the secretary finally 

12558 14 



210 REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 

undertook to prepare a revised order. This, with some slight changes, was practically 
a reprint of the former, and it having been deemed advisable to investigate the matter 
more fully, in order that a code more suitable to the existing conditions might be pro- 
vided, it was not published. 

Much time has been devoted to the study of the numerous points involved, and after 
many interviews and consultations with persons best able to give advice and assistance 
on this impoi'tant question, an order setting forth the principles which govern the 
institution of marriage and adapting the statutes on this subject which prevail in the 
United States to conditions here existing was prepared and submitted to the com- 
manding general on September 15 instant for his approval. 

A copy of this order has also been transmitted to the judicial board for its considera- 
tion, and also to Washington for the approval of the honorable Secretary of War. 

I strongly recommend its adoption, either as proposed or with such modifications 
as may be found necessary, at as early a date as practicable. 

(Copy of this proposed order is hereto attached and marked ' 'Appendix C. " ) 

UNITED STATES PROVISIONAL COURT. 

Early in the month of February advices from Washington began to point to a con- 
clusion of formalities in the treaty of peace with Spain, and an official proclamation 
of peacer As some of the districts of the island were yet in an unsettled condition, 
acts of violence being still committed by armed bands, and as a considerable number 
of cases were pending before the military commissions, I addressed the following 
letter on the 16th of February to the adjutant-general of the department, recom- 
mending that authority be obtained to proclaim martial law in those districts which 
were still turbulent and lawless: 

"Office of the Judge- Advocate, 

"Department of Puerto Rico, 

' ' San Juan, February 16, 1899. 
"Adjutant-General, Department of Puerto Rico: 

' ' In view of the ratification of the treaty of peace between the United States and 
Spain, I have the honor to invite your attention to the fact that there are now pend- 
ing before military commissions in this department a large number of cases under 
charge of murder, arson, robbery, larceny, and other grave crimes. These offenses 
were committed (and are still being committed) by banditti in various parts of the 
island. There are three military commissions now engaged in trying cases of this 
character, which are being disposed of as rapidly as possible. There must, however, 
remain a considerable number after the proclamation of peace, and as cases may con- 
tinue to arise in future Avhere resort to military tribunals may be necessary, I have 
the honor to recommend, in the absence of legislation by Congress, that application be 
made to the President to proclaim martial law in this department wherever deemed 
necessary. 

" The jurisdiction of military commissions convened (as ours now are) under the 
law of war can be exercised only up to the date of the termination of the war status. 
Cases remaining pending and incomplete at such date must be abandoned. (See 
Digest Judge-Advocate-General's Opinions, 507.) 
"Very respectfully," etc. 

This matter, having been approved by the commanding general, was forwarded to 
the War Department for necessary action. 

On April 12, two days before the President's proclamation of peace, a cablegram 
was sent to the Judge- Advocate-General asking for instructions, no reply having been 
received to the above recommendation. 

A communication in reply to this and the former inquiry was sent the following 
day by the Judge- Advocate-General to the honorable Secretary of War, reviewing the 
legal aspects of the case at some length. 

The Judge- Advocate General declared that "the question of the legality of the 
proclamation of martial law and the appointment of military commissions in Puerto 
Rico after the declaration of peace is one of great importance. The present condition 
there is one of hostile occupation or military government, as it has been called 
(opinion of Chief Justice Chase in Milligan case, 4 Wall., 142) , and there is no ques- 
tion as to the authority for the appointment of military commissions in that island at 
the present time. But with the declaration of peace a different condition will arise. 
Puerto Rico will then become part of the territory of the United States, although not 
territory for which Congress has provided a government. It is now territory in the 
hands of the President by virtue of hostile occupation, and which Congress has left 
in his hands until it shall see fit to legislate on the subject. What, then, will be the 



REPOET OF BEIGADIEE-GENEEAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 211 

President's powers? He can not withdraw the Federal authority from the island. 
He must still retain control. And, exercising such control, he must maintain some 
system of government until Congress shall act in the matter. (Cross v. Harrison, 16 
H., 164.) But he will not after the declaration of peace have the same powers as 
now. The rule of hostile occupation can then no longer be enforced. The treaty of 
peace assumed that ordinary criminal courts will continue to exist, but if these can 
not be relied upon for the suppression of the crimes named it would seem that the 
President would have the power to appoint a provisional court with competent 
jurisdiction." 

The Judge-Advocate-General also referred to the establishment, by Executive 
authority, of provisional courts in Louisiana during and after the close of the civil 
war, and suggested ' ' that a court of this kind would probably be effective in case the 
ordinary criminal courts should not be. ' ' He also referred to the reconstruction acts 
of Congress authorizing district commanders to organize military commissions or tri- 
bunals, and concluded by advising that unless absolutely necessary it would seem 
much more desirable to resort to the provisional court than to maintain military trials 
for other than military purposes. These views, having received the approval of the 
President, were transmitted by the Secretary of War to these headquarters under date 
of April 14 and reached this office on the 25th of the same month. I immediately 
began the preparation of an order for the institution of a United States provisional 
court and submitted it three days later to the commanding general, with a letter of 
transmittal, from which the following extracts are submitted in explanation of the 
conditions then existing: 

Office of the Judge- Advocate, 

Department of Puerto Rico, 

San Juan, April 28, 1899. 
Adjutant-General, Department of Puerto Rico. 

Sir: In compliance with the second indorsement of 25th instant from your office, 
transmitting communication from the Judge-Advocate-General of the Army, I have 
the honor to submit the following: 

The President having approved the recommendations of the Judge-Advocate-Gen- 
eral, it follows that trials by military commissions in this island are now authorized, 
but unless such action is absolutely necessary, it is recommended as "being much 
more desirable to resort to some other measure, such as the provisional courts," 
which were instituted during and immediately after the rebellion. The conditions 
existing in the Southern States in 1865-66 were widely different from those now pre- 
vailing in Puerto Eico. The laws, usages, customs, and language of the conquerors 
were the same as those of the subjugated country, and the provisional courts were 
readily instituted, as there were numerous lawyers in both the volunteer army and civil 
life who were well versed in the practice and" procedure of American courts. But in 
this island there are few, if any, American lawyers available for such purpose, and to 
appoint Puerto Rican lawyers to such places would merely be to multiply offices and 
perpetuate the un-American system of jurisprudence now and heretofore prevailing. 

The class of cases which would fall within the jurisdiction of a provisional court are 
those which heretofore have been brought before military commissions, such as crimes 
committed by a civilian, either native or citizen of the United States, or of a foreign 
country against the United States, as, for instance, robbery or obstructing the mails, or 
by a citizen of the United States or of a foreign country against another citizen of the 
States or resident of a foreign state, etc.; also the considerable number of crimes 
committed during the war and as late as February last by natives against Spaniards, 
and by natives against officers and soldiers of the Army and Navy, etc. 

******* 

If this plan meets with the approval of the department commander, I would fur- 
ther recommend the institution of such provisional courts at San Juan, Mayaguez, 
and Ponce, and that they be given the authority to issue the writ of habeas corpus, 
according to the plan which I have submitted in a former communication. 
_ I inclose herewith a brief outline of an order covering the essential points for the 
institution of such courts. 

Very respectfully, A. C. Sharpe, 

Major and Inspector-General, U. S. V., Acting Judge- Advocate. 

This project was considered by the department commander, General Henry, and 
the secretary of justice, until May 2, and then forwarded to the Secretary of War, 
disapproved. 

Regarding the matter of most vital importance for the welfare of the island, I 
sought an opportunity to bring it to the attention of the new department commander, 
General Davis, as soon after his arrival here as practicable. He at once authorized 



212 REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 

me to prepare the plan anew for his consideration. A short time later (June 12) the 
original papers were received back from Washington for the action of the command- 
ing general. 

After very mature consideration and amendments in several details to meet the 
objections of the local judiciary the United States provisional court was established by 
General Orders, No. 88, current series, these headquarters (hereto appended and 
marked Appendix B) . 

Under the provisions of the above-cited order this court was installed on July 1 
with appropriate ceremonies, the Governor-General and staff, foreign consuls, supreme 
court, civil cabinet, and other officials being in attendance. 

The influence of this court is destined to be a potent agency in Americanizing the 
island, and is certainly one of the best measures instituted since the Spanish evacuation. 

Sessions have already been held in San Juan, Mayaguez, and Ponce, and a large 
number of cases disposed of. 

Paragraph IX of the order instituting this court provides that cases arising under 
Article XI of the treaty of Paris shall be determined as provided in said treaty. 

The first case of this nature which arose here was one of ' ' counterfeiting Puerto 
Eican coin," and information against some of the offenders (natives of the Spanish 
Peninsula) was filed in both the provisional and local district courts, resulting in a con- 
flict of jurisdiction. The district court adjourned in a body and appeared before the 
commanding general, protesting against the interference of the Federal court. 

After due consideration of the question involved the department commander 
decided to refer the matter to the War Department for official interpretation of Article 
XI of the treaty and determination of the status of native Spaniards (Peninsulares) 
thereunder. Both courts were accordingly requested to suspend proceedings in the 
case pending a reply. The papers were forwarded to Washington on the 16th instant. 
No decision has yet been received. 

REFORMS IN ADMINISTRATION OF CIVIL AFFAIRS. 

The reforms inaugurated during the first nine months of American sovereignty soon 
began to bear fruit, and as the people became aware that the Administration was 
making every effort toward the betterment of their oppressed conditions, numerous 
appeals asking for further improvements began to pour in to these headquarters. 

Many persons, representatives of the professional and commercial interests of the 
island as well as private citizens, addressed petitions to the Governor General, in which 
they requested action regarding the reorganization of the judiciary administrative 
departments, revision of the oppressive taxation system, facilities for public educa- 
tion, marriage and divorce laws, municipal elections, and many questions of like 
importance for the better administration of civil affairs in the island. The judge- 
advocate was charged with the consideration of these subjects and the suggestion of a 
plan by which the reforms desired might be begun. 

In view of the grave and important nature of these questions, it was thought advisa- 
ble to solicit the opinion and advice of persons who, on account of their experience, 
knowledge of the customs of the country, and ideas of the people, as well as their 
acquaintance with existing laws, might be able to lend valuable assistance to that end. 

Accordingly the judge-advocate proposed that these questions be submitted to a 
commission composed of an equal number of representatives of the two political par- 
ties (Republican and Liberal) and a like number of persons independent of party 
affiliations. 

This plan having been approved by the commanding general, after a week or more 
of conference with the executive committees of the political parties, it became evi- 
dent that it was not feasible, the parties being unable to agree on the question of rep- 
resentation on the commission, one claiming greater partisan strength than the other 
and demanding majority representation. 

As this could not be entertained, it was finally determined to organize three com- 
mittees of five members each, one committee from each of the political parties and 
the third from independents or persons not affiliated with either party. 

After some delay incident to selecting proper personnel, these committees were 
organized. 

The following lists of questions were then prepared and submitted to the com- 
manding general for the consideration of the committees: 

ADMINISTRATION. 

1. Origin of the present system of secretaries. 

2. In what respects is the present system identical with the old Spanish system? 

3. What changes were made under autonomy? 



REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 213 

4. Is it desirable to retain the present system and modify it so as to meet existing 
conditions, or should it be wholly abolished and a new system substituted? 

5 If it is desirable and practicable to retain the present system, in what respect 
should it be modified? If this is thought desirable please submit a plan complete. 

6 If the present system of secretaries is retained, should the authority of the sec- 
retaries be more fully defined and fixed within certain limits? At present it appears 
that secretaries exercise powers that are unknown to Cabinet officers m the United 
States. It seems that the decrees of courts are suspended by the orders of some of 
the secretaries. Judges appear to depend upon and be subordinate to the secretary 
of justice; salaries of the highest judges are less than those of the secretaries, etc., all 
of which seems to indicate that the secretaries hold rank and exercise powers which 
are not accorded to the State secretaries in the various States of the Union. If the 
present system of secretaries should be retained please indicate clearly what their 
authority and functions should be. , . 

7. If the present system of administration by secretaries should be retained, it has 
been suggested that officers of the Army should be placed in charge of them, with 
such native assistants and clerks as may be necessary. Your opinion as to the desira- 
bility of this change is invited. • , 

8. "if the present system is continued, what reductions, if any, in the number should 
be made? Would it be desirable to consolidate two or more departments? Can the 
clerical force be reduced to advantage? What reduction in salaries would be equitable 
and just. . . . 

9. If it is desirable to introduce a new system of administration, would it be wise 
to adopt the system now prevailing in all the States and Territories of the Union, 
having four departments, the heads of which are known as secretary of state, treas- 
urer, auditor, and attorney-general ? A treasurer and auditor having been appointed by 
the authority of the President, would it be desirable to retain the secretary of the 
treasury in addition to the attorney-general and secretary of state? 

The duties and functions of the secretaries and attorney-generals in the States of 
the Union are generally as follows: 

(Here followed a brief outline of the duties of Cabinet officers.) 

10. The judiciary in the United States and in the several States of the Union is 
absolutely independent of all Executive interference or control. Judges are subject 
only to impeachment for grave breaches of duty. It is highly important that some 
modifications be devised in the existing system, or a new system established, which 
will elevate the judiciary to the high and independent plane which it occupies 
in the United States. Judges and courts must be absolutely removed from political, 
religious and personal influences. This can only be accomplished by making them 
independent of all Executive surpervision and accountable to a higher court or to the 
commanding general for misconduct in office, after clue proof of the same. The 
committees are therefore requested to direct their efforts toward this desirable end, 
in connection with the subject of revision of the judicial system. 



1. The present system of taxation will demand a share of attention, to ascertain 
wherein, if possible, it may be simplified and better adapted for existing necessities. 

2. A brief statement of the system under the Spanish Government may be of value — 
its advantages and disadvantages. 

3. Wherein can the present system be improved? 

'4. Is the existing system of classification and appraisement of lands suceptible of 
improvement? 

5. What are the advantages of farming out the collection of taxes? 

6. Can taxes be collected as readily and cheaply and be less burdensome to the 
taxpayer by requiring the payer to bring his money to the office of the local treasurer 
instead of having a taxgatnerer to collect the taxes? 

7. If it is considered better to retain the tax collector, is the percentage allowed 
excessive or unduly burdensome? 

8. Is the present system of description of real property sufficiently clear? If not, 
can it be improved, and how? 

JUDICIAL SYSTEM. 

1. The present system of courts seems to be susceptible of improvement. 

2. Can a more expeditious method of court procedure be devised so that parties 
litigant can be afforded more simple pleadings and more direct methods of_ reaching 
an issue, so that criminal cases of minor importance can be summarily disposed of 
and the more serious cases tried without unnecessary delay? 



214 EEPOET OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 

3. A prompt and speedy trial being no less desirable than a fair and just hearing, 
can better methods be devised for procuring the prompt attendance of witnesses, in 
order that the evidence may be taken while the events are yet fresh in the memory? 

4. Is it desirable and practicable, to reduce the number of courts of first instance,, 
to reduce the number of audiencias, to provide for a circuit court, sitting one term 
in each of the cities of San Juan, Ponce, Mayaguez, with additional terms in Arecibo 
and Utuado (as has been suggested) , and to provide a tribunal for the impeachment 
of judges charged with official misconduct? 

All these and kindred matters should be considered and embodied in a separate 
report. 

ELECTION OF ALCALDES, TOWN COUNCILS, AND MUNICIPAL BOARDS. 

Is it desirable to resort to the election of the above-named officers, or should they 
be appointed as heretofore? 

If elections are desirable, please present a scheme of election which will afford full 
guaranty of a free ballot and a fair count. If it is found desirable to resort to elec- 
tions, would it be better to hold them in a few towns at a time, experimentally, and 
the defects, if any, in the system, thus corrected, before proceeding to further elections? 

In providing a plan for elections, it will, of course, be necessary to determine in an 
equitable way the qualifications of the voters. 

REDUCTION OF MUNICIPALITIES. 

Does the number of municipalities now existing appear to be susceptible of any 
reduction and saving in expense? If so, a plan showing how this can be most judi- 
ciously done should be prepared, with a map. 

SCHOOL SYSTEM. 

Public education being a question of deep concern to all, it is important that this 
matter should continue to receive fostering attention and care. Much has already 
been done in this direction, and it is deemed advisable to continue consideration of 
this matter with the view of reaching the most perfect system attainable. The sug- 
gestions of the committees on this most important subject will receive earnest 
consideration. 

PUBLIC EXPENDITURES. 

The wise expenditure of the public funds and the suppression of all unnecessary 
outlay are questions of utmost concern to the taxpayer. An examination into the 
insular and municipal expenses may be found beneficial. Are they susceptible of 
some reduction? Can the salaries of municipal officers be justly reduced? Any sug- 
gestion which your committee may be able to submit regarding this important point 
will be most acceptable. 

MARRIAGE AND DIVORCE. 

Family life is the recognized basis of true civilization. The attention of your com- 
mittee is invited to the subject of marriage and divorce. 

_ Following the custom of the United States, priests and ministers of religious socie- 
ties, as well as judges, should be permitted to celebrate marriage, unnecessary restric- 
tions should be abolished, and legal requirements and expenses should be placed 
within the reach of the poor. 

The courts should be empowered to grant divorces or legal separation in proper 
cases, but these powers should be exercised with the utmost discretion, and to this 
end your committee may find it desirable to suggest a revision of the existing law on 
this subject. The code of New York is commended to your consideration as the most 
advanced thought in this matter. I hand you herewith a copy of the "Ray bill," 
recently introduced into Congress, relating to this question, which is similar in its 
provisions to the New York Code. 

PUBLIC MORALITY. 

_ Any suggestion which your committee may feel disposed to submit relating to pub- 
lic morals, the regulation of the liquor traffic, the restriction of the exposure and 
sale of obscene literature, the suppression of prostitution, legal restraint upon Sunday 
work and Sunday amusements, such as exist in all the American States save two, 
and the observance of social decency and decorum in public places, will be of value 
and will receive careful consideration. 

* * * -x- # * * 



REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 215 

In addition to these questions copies in both English and Spanish of numerous 
letters from private individuals, petitioning or suggesting public reform, were pre- 
pared in this office and forwarded for reference to the three committees. _ 

The reports submitted by these committees, although varying somewhat in form 
and detail, were unanimous in setting forth the requirements necessary to relieve the 
country and people of the oppressive burdens that had weighed upon them during 
centuries of misrule. . . . 

Each report contained a brief history ot the different systems of administration 
introduced by the Spanish at different periods, but in none of these could evidence 
be found of a single instance where the welfare and rights of the people had received 
first consideration, the interests of the home Government and of its representatives 
on the island being given predominance in all things. f _ * 

The utter inefficiency of the judicial system under the former regime was made a 
salient feature in each of these reports, and every committee recommended immediate 
action toward the improvement of existing conditions on this subject, and especially 
the discontinuance of the department of justice as then organized. 

SPANISH JUDICIAL SYSTEM. 

Under the Spanish domination the organization and jurisdiction of the courts of 
the island were as follows: 

MUNICIPAL COURTS. 

In each municipality (71 in number) a municipal judge with civil jurisdiction in 
actions not involving more than 200 pesos, and in criminal matters extending to all 
misdemeanors and minor offenses punishable by not exceeding one month s confine- 
ment. Appeal from the decisions of this court might be taken to 

COURTS OF FIRST INSTANCE AND INSTRUCTION. 

Of these there were twelve— two in San Juan and one each in the towns of Vega 
Baja, Arecibo, Utuado, Aguadilla, Mayaguez, San German, Ponce, Guayama, Caguas, 
and Humacao. , , , 

The court, like the municipal, consisted of one judge and the necessary clerks and. 
attendants. It had original jurisdiction in civil actions where the amount involved 
exceeded 200 pesos. It was also charged with the duty of investigating crimes and 
preparing sumarios or evidence in the case and recommending a suitable penalty. 
This sumario and recommendation was transmitted for determination to the next 
higher court, known as 

AUDIENCIAS. 

San Juan, Mayaguez, and Ponce each had an audiencia or superior court with 
jurisdiction over all felonies not reserved by law to the jurisdiction of the special 
tribunals, such as those of the army and navy. , 

Each of these audiencias consisted of one president, two magistrates,, one fiscal 
(prosecuting attorney) , one teniente (assistant) , one secretary, one clerk, and a con- 
siderable number of "escribientes (copyists), bailiffs, porters, janitors, etc. 

There was also in San Juan an additional sala, or court, known as the territorial 
court (audiencia territorial) , consisting of one president, four magistrates, one fiscal, 
and the usual number of secretaries, clerks, and attendants. This court had no original 
jurisdiction. It received appeals only in civil actions where the amount involved 
exceeded 200 pesos. . . . 

Prior to the dissolution of the provincial deputation (diputacion provincial) tnere 
was another tribunal, composed of the president and two magistrates of the audiencia 
territorial and two members of the chamber of deputies. This court was known 
as the 

TRIBUNAL LOCAL CONTENCIOSO ADMINISTRATIVO, 

and was constituted to hear claims against the government for damages to private 
interests caused by the acts of the government. 

Appeals from the decision of this court could be taken to the tribunal contencioso 
at Madrid. This court also acted as the representative of the minister for the colonies 
(ministro de ultramar) , and in this capacity had supervision over records, licenses 
(licencias) , competitive examination in civil service, suspension from office, etc. 

There was no supreme court in the island. All appeals from the local courts had 
to be carried to Madrid for the determination of the supreme court or council of the 
Kingdom. 



216 REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 

With rare exceptions all judges, prosecuting attorneys, and other superior officers 
of the courts were natives of Spain (peninsulares) . 

On October 18, 1898, the date the United States took formal possession of the gov- 
ernment, a general order was issued by General Brooke (General Orders, No. 1) by 
which it was declared that — 

"IX. The provincial and municipal laws, in so far as they affect the settlement of 
the private rights of persons and property and provide for the punishment of crime, 
will be enforced unless they are incompatible with the changed conditions of Puerto 
Rico, in which event they may be suspended by the department commander. They 
will be administered substantially as they were before the cession to the United 
States. For this purpose the judges and all other officials connected with the admin- 
istration of justice who accept allegiance to the United States will administer the 
laws of the land as between man and man; but in cases of nonacceptance of such 
allegiance or malfeasance in office, or for other cause, the department commander 
will exercise his right of removal and the appointment of other officials. To aid in 
executing the provincial and municipal laws the present local constabulary and police 
will be preserved as far as practicable and necessary, provided their allegiance to the 
United States is assured." 

A few days later the burdensome tax of stamped official paper was removed by 
the following order (General Orders, No. 4, series 1898) : 

' ' 2. From and after the date of this order the use of all stamped paper and stamps 
of every kind and character whatsoever heretofore required by Spanish law will be 
discontinued in Puerto Rico and its adjacent islands, and all documents, titles, bank 
checks, and papers of every kind and character will have legal effect in Puerto Rico 
and its adjacent islands without the use of said stamped paper and stamps." 

By General Orders, No. 17 (November 29, 1898) , the diputacion provincial was 
discontinued, thus breaking up the tribunal provincial contencioso administrativo. 
A supreme court was also established, consisting of a president and six magistrates, 
having jurisdiction in all matters which under the Spanish regime had pertained to 
the supreme court at Madrid. 

The Spanish system, however, was found to be very cumbersome, the pleadings 
complex, and the resulting delay in the settlement of litigated business intolerable. 
In civil actions cases would drag along for years, and in criminal cases, as already 
stated, the jails were crowded to suffocation. 

Pursuant to the recommendations of the several committees, above referred to, I 
was directed by the commanding general to prepare a plan for the creation of a 
judicial board in substitution of the office of the secretary of justice. 

It being desirable that this board be composed of persons who might be willing to 
serve voluntarily and from no other motive than public spirit, such were selected, 
three members being prominent Puerto Rican lawyers and the other two Americans — 
i. e., the presiding judge of the provisional court and the judge-advocate of the 
department. 

This board was instituted by General Orders, No. 98, current series (copy hereto 
attached) , in which provisions are also made for the appointment of a solicitor-general, 
who, besides acting as secretary of the board, has charge of the office of the depart- 
ment of justice, over which the board exercises immediate control. 

The duties of the board are well defined. The control heretofore exercised by the 
department of justice over the local courts has been removed (thus placing the judi- 
ciary on an independent footing) , but provisions have been made wherein the board 
is vested with authority to file articles of impeachment against the judges and judicial 
officers in cases of corrupt practices or malfeasance in office. 

In other respects the duties of this board correspond to those exercised by the 
Department of Justice and Attorney-General in the United States. 

REORGANIZATION OF JUDICIAL SYSTEM. 

The first efforts of the judicial board were directed to the reorganization of the 
courts and reforms in procedure. This was effected after considerable labor, discus- 
sion, and emendations and published in General Orders, No. 114 and No. 118, current 
series (copy herewith) . 

By the latter order the supreme court is reorganized and reduced from seven to 
fiye magistrates. The audiencias and courts of first instance and instructions are 
abolished, and in their places five district courts of three judges each are organized. 
The jurisdiction and functions of the municipal courts are also enlarged. 

This reorganization, although not all that could be desired, and not acceptable to 
the American members of the board, was the result of many compromises and 
amendments, and was finally adopted as the best that could be attained at this stage 
of progress in the work of reform. 



EEPOET OF BEIGADIEE-OENEEAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 217 



TAXATION. 



The system of taxation under Spanish rule was not only excessive and burdensome, 
but bore with special hardship on the poor. 

Nearly every article of food, such as rice, codfish, potatoes, etc., was heavily 
taxed, while luxuries, fine furniture, pianos, fine paintings, statuary, jewelry, dia- 
monds, precious stones, etc. , were exempt. 

The land tax was also inequitable, and, in cities especially, large properties were 
known to yield a tax revenue very disproportionate to their value. 

By General Orders, No. 6, current series, issued by General Henry (copy herewith) , 
a remedy was sought in the reclassification of agricultural lands, but the results do 
not yet appear to be very satisfactory. 

The three committees appointed to consider this, with other questions, afforded 
little assistance in the solution of the problem. Indeed, it seemed quite impossible 
for them to break away from the old Spanish ideas or to suggest an improvement in 
existing conditions. One committee recommended that all vacant city lots be wholly 
exempt from taxation, basing this suggestion upon the fact that such property was 
yielding no income and therefore could not reasonably be expected to pay a tax. It 
was suggested by others that 1 cent more per pound be added to the already exorbi- 
tant tax on rice. 

The multifarious duties which were daily crowded upon this office rendered it 
impossible for the judge-advocate to give this question the study which its great 
importance demanded. 

The havoc caused by the hurricane of August 8, however, and the resulting paraly- 
sis of business throughout the island have brought a deluge of petitions from every 
quarter praying for relief and an immediate readjustment of the tax schedule. It 
has therefore become a matter of such urgency as to admit of no further delay. 

By direction of the department commander, and after consultations with the may- 
ors of San Juan and Ponce, the civil secretary, and prominent members of the bar, I 
have prepared an order (copy hereto attached and marked "Appendix B") providing 
for a poll tax of $1 for school purposes, and in which it will be seen that the pre- 
vailing idea is to reach articles of luxury, liquors, etc., as well as some vehicles used 
for pleasure, not now subject to a tax. 

Nearly every Puerto Eican consulted is unalterably opposed to taxes on personal 
property, including pianos and other musical instruments, fine paintings, statuary, 
jewelry, diamonds, and precious stones, claiming that all such articles pertain to art, 
and should be sacredly exempt from the polluting touch of the taxgatherer. 

It will be seen from the nature of this opposition how difficult the task is of intro- 
ducing a new system of taxation, especially when it touches the rich, who for cen- 
turies have been exempt from bearing their share of the burdens of the government. 



MISCELLANEOUS. 

NEUTRALITY LAWS. 



In view of the disturbed conditions existing in the neighboring island of Haiti, 
culminating in the assassination of President Hereaux and the breaking out of revo- 
lution in the Republic of Santo Domingo, and also in view of the fact that information 
was received at these headquarters to the effect that parties residents of this island con- 
templated the fitting out of filibustering expeditions destined to assist in the over- 
throw of the Dominican Government, it was deemed advisable, in order to prevent 
any possible misapprehension on the part of the parties concerned, to publish the 
United States laws on the question of neutrality. 

By direction of the department commander, an order covering this matter was 
prepared in this office. (General Orders, No. 109, current series. ) 



Although the penal code of Puerto Rico made duelling a punishable offense, the 
law was a dead letter, as public sentiment seemed to favor this method of settling 
affairs of honor. Two duels having occurred in quick succession, and the press hav- 
ing published commendatory articles of one of the affairs and predicted others soon 
to follow, in flagrant defiance of the law, an order was prepared for the suppression 
of this pernicious practice and published in General Orders, No. 129, current series, 
Department of Puerto Rico. 



218 REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 

DETERMINATION OF CITIZENSHIP UNDER ARTICLE IX OF THE TREATY OF PARIS. 

Instructions having been received from the War Department to take the necessary 
steps in order that Spanish subjects residents of this department might be enabled 
to make legal declaration to retain their Spanish nationality under the provisions of 
the treaty of peace, the judge-advocate was charged with the preparation of the 
necessary orders. (General Orders, No. 132, current series, Department of Puerto 
Rico.) 

ELECTIONS. 

The first effort of the present administration toward the introduction of the Ameri- 
can system of elections was made in Adjuntas. 

In this particular town the political dissensions existing between the factions con- 
stituting the municipal corporation had become so heated as to practically stop the 
machinery of the local administration. 

The commanding general, finding it impossible to reconcile the warring factions, 
ordered the deposition of the alcalde and municipal board of the town, placing the 
local government in the hands of an army officer pending the necessary arrange- 
ments for an election of new officers. 

An order was accordingly prepared prescribing the necessary steps to be taken in 
detail by the commanding officer for the registration of voters and the conduct of the 
election. 

Lengthy conferences were had with the leaders of the two contending political 
parties, who urged many objections to various provisions of the order, which they 
feared might be prejudicial to their interests and in favor of the other party. Finally, 
as a result of much amendment and compromise, the order was completed to the 
apparent satisfaction both sides and published in paragraph 2, Special Orders, No. 
146, current series, Department of Puerto Rico. 

This election took place on July 25, and although there was every reason to believe 
that it had been conducted fairly and honestly, a few technicalities had arisen during 
the course of the balloting that gave rise to complaints on the part of the defeated 
party, and the commanding general decided to cancel the results and order a new 
election. 

Before this could be accomplished, however, the unfortunate tornado of August 8 
intervened, and owing to the devastated condition of the country, the distress of the 
people, and the impassable condition of the roads, etc. , it was postponed. 

An effort was also made to introduce the elective system by submitting to a vote 
of the people the question of annexation of the municipality of Barceloneta to that 
of Manati. This election was at the request of the people of both municipalities and 
was ordered by paragraph 3, Special Orders, No. 156, current series, Department of 
Puerto Rico (herewith inclosed) . 

Although these people were apparently anxious for annexation, they began at once 
to raise objections to the methods proposed and in various ways to manifest a pur- 
pose to obstruct and defeat the election. Every effort was made to meet the numer- 
ous objections urged — by changing places of registration and polling places and also 
by changing the personnel of the army officers in charge. 

When matters seemed to be finally adjusted the parties who had been designated 
to act as registrars refused to serve, under trivial pretexts, but in reality declined in 
order to obstruct the election. At other points, where the boards had been success- 
fully organized, the people, acting under the direction of leaders who appeared on 
the ground and seemed to be managing the affair, declined to appear and register or 
participate or aid in any way in carrying forward the necessary work preliminary to 
the election. 

This effort has accordingly been abandoned, and the only remedy now seems to be 
to consolidate the municipalities by arbitrary order. A general election order — Gen- 
eral Orders, No. 145, current series, Department of Puerto Rico (herewith inclosed) — 
has been prepared, after consultation with representative men of both political parties, 
and will form the basis for future municipal elections. 

By this order it will be observed that the elective franchise is limited to taxpayers 
and persons able to read and write who have resided over two years in the island. 

From close observation and study of these people it is my personal opinion that 
they are illy qualified for the exercise of the elective franchise, and it is more than 
probable that the elections will be largely controlled by a handful of influential 
leaders. However, the experiment seems worth trying. 

CONCLUSION. 

This report has been hastily prepared and only at such intervals of time as could 
be seized in the great pressure of daily duties which crowd upon this office. It is 



REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 219 

therefore quite incomplete, and no time is available to revise or rearrange its details. 
I regret that it so feebly conveys the information desired, especially regarding the 
almost insurmountable difficulties which are continually encountered in seeking to 
introduce our laws and methods, particularly in the transaction of public business, 
court procedure, and systems of governmental administration, all of which under 
Spanish rule were so tedious, cumbersome, and extravagant. 

In conclusion I may be permitted to repeat the opinion, heretofore expressed in my 
annual report to the Judge-Advocate-General, that Puerto Rico has many alert, intel- 
ligent people, who, though bowed down by centuries of oppression, still retain the 
spirit and capacity for higher and better conditions. 

This capacity and these conditions can be developed only under a system which 
will wisely control, guide, and support them until they attain sufficient vigor to sup- 
port and control themselves. Such a system is found in the military government now 
prevailing. 

If this government is prematurely withdrawn and a territorial form of government 
placed in control, as has been suggested in some quarters, it would, in my judgment, 
be the most unfortunate measure that could possibly befall the island. 

Under the present system and the further reforms now under consideration by the 
department commander every administrative department or bureau will have the 
benefit of American influence and advice. 

Nearly all of the orders instituting reforms or modifying the laws which emanate 
from these headquarters are prefaced by the words ' ' Upon the recommendation of 
such and such a board. ' ' This may lead to the supposition that these boards originate 
such reforms and modifications, whereas, as a matter of fact, the idea is conceived 
and the order prepared by some American officer and submitted to the board for 
their acquiescence and approval. 

Under a territorial system this American leaven would be wanting; the legislature 
would consist exclusively of Puerto Ricans, and the laws, the courts, the bar, and 
the institutions and customs of the country would remain for an indefinite period 
Spanish and un-American. 

Intimate daily association for several months past with many of the most cultured 
professional gentlemen and public-spirited citizens of the island has only served to 
confirm me in this opinion, which I find is also entertained by many of the most 
intelligent and patriotic Puerto Ricans themselves. 

Continued military control, therefore, for a reasonable time, aided by wise advisory 
councils, can not fail to secure gradual but steady and ultimate assimilation by the 
people of our best American thought and methods of administration. 
Very respectfully, 

A. C. Sharpe, 
Major and Inspector-General U. S. V., Acting Judge-Advocate. 



# Appendix A. 

RULES AND REGULATIONS FOR THE BOARD OF PRISON CONTROL. 

San Juan, P. R., August 24, 1899. 
Administration and business rides of the board. 

Article 1. The secretary is hereby instructed to open and keep in proper order 
the following board books and records, which will be at all times open to the inspec- 
tion and investigation of the members of the board : First, book of records, contain- 
ing the actions taken by the board of prison control, as also the orders, instructions, 
and recommendations issued by the said board at its several sittings; second, set of 
letters sent and received, books with indexes for pardon business, and a similar set 
for jail business. 

Art. 2. The records of each meeting will be certified to by the president and secre- 
tary of the board. 

Art. 3. All the records and correspondence concerning jail or pardon business will 
be properly briefed and filed in the office of the board in such manner that easy 
access may be had to any document. 

Art. 4. All correspondence with this board will be addressed to the " secretary of 
the board of prison control, San Juan, P. R." 

Visiting and advisory municipal boards. 

Art. 5. An auxiliary board of inspection is hereby created for each jail. It shall 
be composed of the junior judge of the district court and the fiscal of the court in the 



220 REPORT OF BRIGADIERS-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 

town where the jail is located, and one councilman, to be selected by the council of 
the town. It shall be the duty of this board to make periodical visits to the jail, at 
least once a fortnight, and to make to the board of prison control a report on the 
condition of the jail, state of the food and clothing supply, efficiency of the employees 
of the jail in the performance of their duties, and to point out any defect they may 
find and what remedy to same would be advisable. These reports will be confi- 
dential. 

Jail officials. 

Art. 6. All the jail officials whose salaries are $1,200 or less per annum depend 
exclusively on the board of prison control. Their appointment or dismissal will be 
made by the board after due investigation in each case (General Orders, No. 97, Depart- 
ment Puerto Rico, 1899) . 

Art. 7. The duties of jail employees will be defined according to the jail regula- 
tions prescribed by the board. 

Art. 8. These regulations will be printed and kept in a conspicuous part of the 
jailer's office of each jail, and will be strictly binding on jail officials and prisoners 
alike. 

Art. 9. The salaries of jail employees will be paid by the treasurer of the board of 
prison control. 

Art. 10. Each jailer will be required to keep such books as may be prescribed by 
the board. Those now in use will be continued until further orders. 

Jailer. 

Art. 11. The jailer will send on the last day of each month to the secretary of the 
board of prison control the following documents: First. A report of prisoners, as per 
instructions published in General Orders, No. 68, in the Official Gazette of the 25th of 
May, 1899. Second. A report of the state of the jail building, food, clothing, occur- 
rences, and happenings, visits made during month by the auxiliary board of inspec- 
tion, with mention of cause and nature of such visit; also detailed accounts of any 
serious infractions of discipline and the action taken in each case. 

Subsistence of prisoners. 

Art. 12. The furnishing of the food and clothing for the prisoners will be done 
habitually by contract, but may be done administratively when necessary or more 
economical. 

Art. 13. The jailer will send each month to the secretary of the board a correct 
statement of the number of prisoners fed daily. 

Art. 14. The jailer will be particularly required to see that all the kitchen utensils, 
prisoners' plates, and spoons are kept in the best condition of cleanliness, and have 
this work performed in turn by the prisoners themselves. 

Prisoners' clothing. 

Art. 15. The clothing issued to prisoners will be uniform throughout the island. 
Said clothing shall conform in quality and make to the patterns and samples kept on 
hand in the office of the board of prison control, San Juan, and in the office of each 
jail. A prisoner's suit shall consist of one blouse, one pair of trousers, one under- 
shirt, one hat, and one pair of shoes. 

Clothing alloivance. 

Art. 16. Each prisoner on entrance may, if necessary, be issued by the jailer, one 
suit, also one blouse, one pair trousers, and one undershirt extra. 

Art. 17. All prisoners confined in the penitentiary shall wear the uniform of the 
prison. Each one upon entrance shall receive the above-prescribed allowance if he 
has not already received the same in jail; which shall also be allowed him at the 
end of every six months of his imprisonment, provided that, if at the end of any six 
months any of the above articles do not require replacing, the prisoner shall be cred- 
ited with the cost of such article or articles, and that such saved clothing money 
shall be paid to the prisoner on his discharge. 

Jail physicians. 

Art. 18. Hereafter the jail physicians shall be appointed by the board; their sala- 
ries will be determined by the board, according to the importance of the jail. 



REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 221 

Art. 19. The jail physician will send to the board a monthly report of the sanitary 
state of the jail and of the prisoners during the month, together with a list of the 
number of sick and a certified copy of the prescriptions. 

Pardons. 

Art. 20. Petitions for pardon will not be considered unless the prisoner has served 
more than one-half his original sentence, except in cases of special merit,_ or extraor- 
dinary services, or conditions which the board will duly verify and' consider. Peti- 
tions for pardon coming from a prisoner will be forwarded by the warden or jailer to 
the secretary of the board, accompanied by the jail history of the prisoner and a 
report of his conduct. 

Dungeons. 

Art. 21. There will hereafter be no dungeons or dark cells used as places of con- 
finement. Shackles or stocks will not be used for punishment. Solitary confine- 
ment on bread and water diet, but in a lighted cell, will be used in punishment for 
misbehavior or violation of prison rules, to be continued until the offender shows 
evidence of reform. 

Credits for good conduct. 

Art. 22. In the future a credit of five days in each month will be allowed to each 
prisoner for good behavior, such credit to be applied in reducing the length of sen- 
tence. Misbehavior will remove the credit thus earned and a new start will be 
necessary. (General Orders, No. 33, Department of Puerto Rico, 1899.) That is to 
say, for each period of. thirty days five will be allowed in shortening the term of con- 
finement. The above rule dates from March 13, 1899. 

Confinement before trial. 

Art. 23. When sentenced, the prisoner will always be credited with the whole of 
the time that he has been imprisoned up to the date on which his sentence is passed, 
without any exceptions whatever. (Judicial order of February 10, 1899, approved 
by the governor-general.) 

Headquarters Department of Puerto Rico, 

San Juan, August 24, 1899. 
The foregoing regulations are approved and will be in force from this date. 

G. W. Davis, 
Brigadier-General, U. S. V. 



Appendix B. 

proposed taxation order. 

General Orders, \ Headquarters Department of Puerto Rico, 
No. . j San Juan, Puerto Rico, , 1899. 

The destruction caused by the recent hurricane to the industries of the island and 
to the growing crops of coffee, sugar, and all kinds of minor fruits has resulted in the 
inability of some proprietors and other taxpayers to pay the territorial and other 
taxes in full. It has resulted that many town councils are unable to balance their 
budgets for the current year. 

The municipal authorities are enjoined to exercise the most rigid economy in all 
expenditures. The governor-general is constantly receiving petitions from individ- 
uals and delegations throughout the island praying him to withhold his approval of 
municipal budgets, because expenditures are contemplated that are deemed to be 
unnecessary and beyond the real needs of town government. 

In times like these, when great distress exists in many towns, it is hardly to be 
comprehended that their municipal officials could be made to accept a salary from 
the public treasury. There certainly can be found in every town many public- 
spirited and well-to-do officers and citizens who are able and willing to serve their 
neighbors without compensation. The governor-general is aware that in some places 
the alcaldes and other municipal officers have renounced their salaries while the dis- 
tress continues. 



222 ' REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 

I. In order to provide means for supplying the needed revenue, both insular and 
municipal, taxes will be imposed according to the following schedule: 

Section 1. Every male person between the ages of 21 and 50 years residing in this 
island shall pay a poll tax of 50 cents annually for Puerto Rican school purposes, and 
shall also pay a like sum of 50 cents annually for municipal school purposes. This 
tax shall be due and payable on October 1 of each year, beginning October 1, 1899, 
and if not paid before the 1st of January following it shall be deemed delinquent and 
shall be collected by process of law. 

Sec. 2. For each pack of playing cards sold at retail in public places or clubs a tax 
of 10 cents shall be imposed. 

Sec 3. For each billiard or pool table a tax of $25 per annum shall be levied. 

Sec. 4. For animals and vehicles the following taxes shall be levied: 

a. For each horse, $1 per annum. 

b. For each vehicle drawn by one horse, $2 per annum; if drawn by two horses, 
$3 per annum. If used for pleasure only, such vehicle shall pay a tax of $4 per 
annum. 

c. For each dray or cart used for profit and drawn by one animal, $1 per annum; 
for each additional animal, 50 cents per annum. 

cl. For each automobile conveyance, coach, carriage, buggy, or hack used for car- 
rying passengers for profit (not exceeding four passengers) within the limits of a 
single municipality, $5 per annum; for each vehicle of the same class when used for 
carrying passengers beyond the limits of a single municipality (not less than) , $10 
per annnm, payable to the municipality in which the owner thereof resides. 

For each vehicle carrying more than four passengers for profit within the limits 
of a single municipality, $20 per annum. 

For each vehicle of the same class carrying more than four passengers for profit 
beyond the limits of a single municipality, $40, payable to the municipality in which 
the owner thereof resides. 

e. In case any of the vehicles herein enumerated shall belong to a corporation 
the tax shall be paid to the municipality in which the principal office or agency or 
place of business of such corporation is located. 

Sec. 5. For each space used for advertisements or posters on walls or other sup- 
ports facing a public street or other public place, the owner of such wall or space so 
used shall pay an annual tax of $2. 

Sec. 6. For each license or permit for a ball at which an admission fee is charged 
or cards of admission are used, a tax of not less than $5 shall be imposed. 

Sec. 7. For each certified copy of a municipal resolution or official records thereof, 
10 cents for each 100 words or fraction thereof, and $1 for each certificate of the same. 
This section shall apply only to municipalities in which no tax of this kind is now 
imposed. 

Sec. 8. For each license or permit for peddling in the public streets or highways, 
$12 per annum, payable quarterly in advance. For each peddler using in his business 
a vehicle drawn by one auimal, $24 a year, payable quarterly in advance. But this 
section shall not apply to persons Vending only products of the island: Provided, That 
peddlers selling any malt, spirituous, or vinous liquors shall pay the license prescribed 
in section 13 of this order. 

Sec. 9. Every manufacturer of matches shall pay a tax of one-tenth of 1 cent on 
each box of matches manufactured by him before it leaves the factory. The name 
of the manufacturer shall appear on "each box or package. Each original package 
of matches shall be sealed by a stamp of the required denomination before leaving 
the factory. No retail seller of matches shall have more than 24 boxes of matches 
(each box to contain not less than 60 sticks nor more than 100) out of the original 
package at one time. 

Sec 10. The district courts will have jurisdiction over all cases arising under vio- 
lations of any article of this order. Any person violating any of the foregoing sec- 
tions of this order shall be subjected to a fine of not less than $100 or to imprison- 
ment at hard labor for not less than three months, or to both such fine and impris- 
onment, in the discretion of the court. 

Sec 11. For a license permitting the manufacture of brandy, rum, or other alco- 
holic liquors, not exceeding $200 per annum, payable to the municipality where the 
mariufacturer is located: Provided, That in towns not exceeding 8,000 inhabitants the 
city council may fix a less rate. 

Sec 12. Every person who sells spirituous, malt, or vinous liquors not to be drunk 
on the premises Avhere sold shall obtain a license therefor from the treasurer of the 
island, and shall have to pay for such license the sum of $200 annually in advance, 
said tax to be paid to the municipality in which the said premises are located: Pro- 
vided, That no such dealer shall sell in quantities less than 4 gallons, or 20 litres. 

Sec 13. Every person who retails spirituous, malt, or vinous liquors, or other bev- 



REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 223 

erages to be drunk on the premises where sold shall obtain a license therefor from 
the treasurer of the island, and shall pay for said license the sum of $60 per annum, 
payable quarterly in advance. 

Sec 14. Any person violating sections 11, 12, and 13 of this order shall, upon con- 
viction thereof, be subject to a fine of not less than $500 or to imprisonment at hard 
labor for not less than six months, or both such fine and imprisonment, in the dis- 
cretion of the court. 

Sec. 15. There shall be imposed an annual tax of 20 cents on each bull, steer, ox, 
cow, and heifer not used in traffic, over 1 year old, which shall include matriculation. 
On or before December 1, 1899, every owner of such animal or animals, in person, 
or by some authorized representative if such owner be absent from the island, shall 
make oath before the municipal judge in the municipality in which the cattle are 
owned, stating the number and description thereof. A certified copy of such state- 
ment shall be forwarded by the municipal judge to the alcalde of the municipality, 
and a duplicate thereof to the treasurer of the island. For such services a fee of 10 
cents shall be paid for all cattle less than ten in number, and for over ten animals 20 
cents, to the municipal judge by the party making the affidavit. Any person who shall 
knowingly falsify such statement shall be deemed guilty of perjury, and shall be sub- 
ject to prosecution in the United States provisional court, and upon conviction thereof 
shall be punished by a fine not exceeding $2,000 or by imprisonment at hard labor 
not exceeding five years, or by both such fine and imprisonment, in the discretion of 
the court. 

Sec. 16. Each head of cattle heretofore enumerated in the foregoing section which 
shall not be reported by the owner thereof or his agent, as required, shall pay an 
annual tax of $1 within thirty days after demand therefor, and in case of default 
such cattle shall be seized and sold according to law. 

Sec 17. All personal property, including furniture and household effects, all gold 
jewelry, gold watches, diamonds, and precious stones, all bank stock, securities, 
bonds, and other similar property, all paintings in oil or water colors, statuary 
(except that used in churches and cemeteries) , and all pianos and musical instru- 
ments owned and kept for private use or in hotels, clubs, restaurants, cafes, or 
saloons, and all phonographs, shall be listed and appraised at their actual value by 
the owner thereof: Provided, That each householder shall be entitled to have not 
exceeding $200 worth of personal property so listed and appraised exempt from 
taxation. And provided, That the tax on dogs shall be not less than $2 per head per 
annum. Due return of this list and appraisement shall be made by said owner 
under oath before the municipal judge of the municipality in which the owner resides. 
Such return shall be made on or before November 1, 1899, to the municipal treasurer. 
Upon receipt of such return the municipal treasurer shall assess a tax of one-half 
of 1 per cent ad valorem on the property so listed, except on pianos, which shall 
pay an annual tax of $1 each. Notice of this assessment shall be publicly posted 
at the alcalde's office during the month of November, 1899. If this tax is not 
paid on or before December 31, 1899, it will be deemed delinquent, and will then be 
collected by due process of law. 

Sec 18. Blank forms will be issued to alcaldes by the civil secretary for the list- 
ing and appraisement of such personal property. These blanks will be supplied to 
every male resident of the municipality over 21 years of age who is believed by the 
alcalde to be the owner of any of the property herein enumerated. Should any 
person who owns property of the character enumerated in section 17 of this order 
receive a blank form, he will make due return of the same in the same manner as if 
he had property. The municipal judge may charge a fee not exceeding 25 cents for 
administering the oath to assessment lists: Provided, That indigent persons possessing 
no property shall not be required to pay said £ee. 

Sec 19. Any person who makes a false return of property or who fails to make 
return within the time or in the manner herein prescribed shall be deemed guilty of 
a misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof before the district court shall be pun- 
ished by a fine not less than $100 or by imprisonment at hard labor for not less than 
three months, or by both such fine and imprisonment, in the discretion of the court. 

Sec. 20. Should any person fail to make return within the time required by section 
17 of this order, the alcalde, municipal treasurer, and municipal judge shall proceed 
to the residence, house, hotel, club, or other place in which the property of such 
person is located, and make a list and appraisement of the same according to the 
terms of section 17 of this order. 

Sec 21. All taxes are payable in United States currency, or in Puerto Rico cur- 
rency at the legal rate of exchange ($1.66|) . 

By command of Brigadier-General Davis: 

j 
A djutant- General. 



224 REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 

Appendix C. 

PROPOSED MARRIAGE AND DIVORCE ORDER. 

General Orders, \ Headquarters Department of Puerto Rico, 
No. . J San Juan, P. R., 



In view of the prevailing custom of living in concubinage, which has existed for 
many years in this island among certain classes of society, and with a view to a clear 
understanding by all concerned of the humane principles which underlie American 
laws regarding the marital relations, the department commander deems it expedient 
to revise the orders heretofore published on this subject in conformity with the follow- 
ing principles: 



MARRIAGE. 



I. Family life is the recognized basis of true civilization. American law and insti- 
tutions regard the relation of the husband and wife as one of the most sacred guar- 
anties for the perpetuity of the state. Marriage is recognized as the only lawful 
relation by which Providence has permitted the continuance of the human race, and 
the history of mankind has proved it to be one of the chief foundations of social order. 

II. Marriage in the eye of the law is purely a civil contract, and therefore does not 
need for its sanction the assistance or intervention of ecclesiastical authority. It is 
not necessary that a clergyman should be present to give validity to a marriage, but, 
as many persons of religious faith prefer to have the rite solemnized according to 
the forms of their religion, it has become the recognized practice in the United States 
to permit the contracting parties to choose that form of ceremony, whether religious 
or secular, which may be most agreeable to them. In either case, whether secular 
or ecclesiastical in form, the force and effect of a marriage is the same and equally 
binding on all concerned. 

III. The basis of marriage contract is consent; therefore when either party to a 
marriage is incapable, for reasons stated by law, of giving such consent, the contract 
may be declared void by a court of competent jurisdiction, and persons making such 
contracts in violation of the provisions made by law for the protection and well- 
being of society are subject to legal punishment for such acts. 

IV. A marriage contract, however, having been once duly effected, the policy of 
the law is in favor of its stability. It is therefore opposed to the absolute dissolution 
(a vinculo matrimonii) of a valid marriage union except for adultery, and to a legal 
separation (a mensa et thoro) except for intolerable hardship. 

V. Pursuant to the foregoing general principles, which will be respected and 
observed by all the courts in the constructfon and interpretation of the law, it is 
hereby ordered: 

Section 1. Except when annulled by death or divorce or for other causes herein- 
after mentioned, a lawful marriage is perpetually binding. 

Sec. 2. Promise of future marriage — no matter in what form, nor by what cere- 
mony solemnized, nor by what clauses contained in such promise — shall not be bind- 
ing, except as the breach thereof may give rise to civil liability for damages. 

Sec 3. Males over 21 and females over 18 years of age who are in the full enjoy- 
ment of their mental faculties and not suffering from evident and perpetual and 
incurable impotence, preventing procreation, may contract marriage. 

Sec 4. Males between the ages of 17 and 21 and females between the ages of 14 
and 18, with the consent of their parents or legal guardians, and subject to the 
limitations prescribed in section 3, Paragraph V, may contract marriage. If there be 
no parent or guardian, no consent is required. All marriages by any male person 
under the age of 17 years and any female under the age of 14 years are absolutely 
void. 

Sec 5. The permission of parents or guardians required by the preceding section 
(4) will be made in writing before the municipal judge of the municipality in which 
the parent or ward resides. This permission will be signed by the parent or guardian, 
witnessed by the signature of the judge, and filed in his office. 

Sec 6. The ages of the contracting parties may be established by any of the fol- 
lowing methods: A certificate of birth granted by the registrar of the civil registry in 
which the entry exists; the certificate of baptism; the statement under oath of the 
parent or guardian. 

VI. The following classes of persons are incapable of contracting marriage: 

Sec 1. Those not authorized to marry under the provisions of sections 3 and 4, Par- 
agraph V. 
Sec 2. Those whose former marriage has not been legally dissolved. 



REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 225 

+Vl f EC - 3 - Gu ardians and their wards are prohibited to marry until the termination of 
the guardianship and the ward is of legal age. 

„v? E S' i'™ 11 ma J ria gfs between relatives and children, including grandfathers and 
grandchildren, of all degrees, between half brothers and sisters, as\lso of full blood 
£7,^ and nieces, aunts and nephews, are hereby declared incestous and 
absolutely void. This section shall extend to all illegitimate as well as legitimate 
^n^SS&SSS^ 190 °' -^esofthefourth degree ffJ?£3$ 
«,X5" Per ^. ns ' d t esi ™\ to contract marriage will be required to obtain a license 

mrdes ' Sf^ f the n T^ ^ 3& 0Dt »> and occ Vtion of the contracting 
parties. Blank forms for such license will be prepared by the chief of the bureau of 
state and municipal affairs, and furnished upon requisition to the municfp7Ses 
Upon application of the contracting parties, municipal judges will post a notiSon 
the door of their court for five days, stating that application for icense to marry h£ 

•STt^ f °? h ^ 6 namGS ' age ^' and residence of the applicants TheprS 
scribed five days' notice having expired and the municipal judge having satisfied 
himself that the parties are qualified to marry, he will fill out a lcenTeSefem 
SlST m ^ C1 J n regist - er Prided for the purpose, and officiaUy Sgu Ind 
fee not exceeSLT^f^ If^ The ™**F* ^dge is authorized to c&rge a 
lee not exceeding $1 United States currency, for the issue of the marriage license 

n k£5\ £ ny T mClp + al ] ? dge 0r °? dained P riest or minist ^ of any religiSus denomi- 
riag?cermrny ° n Ctmg P arties ma ^ sel ^ is authorized to officiate at a Z- 

iudfe o? d™^^ SSS marria ge™t deliver their license to the officiating 
juage or cleigj man. Within five days after the marriage the officiating iudse or 
clergyman shall indorse on this license the fact of his execution of the sanie with 

lieent fc 6 ° f *• T- n > ge ' a , d return [t to the municipal °udge who tZed the 
tee, The municipal judge will record it in the civil register and place the license 

X. Any person failing to make the return prescribed in Paragraph IX or who 
makes false return will be subject, on conviction thereof, to a fine of not less than 

XL If a marriage is solemnized by a clergyman, it may be celebrated in the forms 
of his religious faith or that of the contracting parties. If it is solemnized bv a 
municipal judge the ceremony will be performed in the following manner- 

tinTp«,?r T !w < i tingpartie 1 S ' accoin P anied by at least two witnesses, shall appear at a 
time and place previously agreed upon with the officiating judge. The judge shall 
then ask each of the contracting parties if he or she knows of any legaHncamcity or 
3 rr™t° their marnage. If both parties answer in the negative, the judge 
snail then put the following questions to each of the contracting parties: "Do you 
wish to take ■— - — for your husband (or wife)?" To which they should 
reply: 1 do. On hearing these words from both contracting parties the judge 
shall say: "I pronounce you husband and wife." 

i XII. It shall be the duty of all persons who have authority under this order to 
join persons m marriage, before doing so to ascertain from the contracting parties by 
sufficient evidence that they are not under the provisions of this order incapable of 
contracting marriage. Any person who contracts a marriage or who voluntarily 
unites parties in marriage knowing that either of the contracting parties is legally 
incapacitated, under the provisions of this order, for making such contract, shall be 
punished, on conviction thereof, by a fine of not less than $100 or by imprisonment 
tor not less than three months, or by both such fine and imprisonment. 

XIIL Any person within the degrees of consanguinity in which marriages are 
declared invalid by section 4, Paragraph VI, of this order who shall contract marriage 
one with the other, or shall cohabit dissolutely and lasciviously one with the other 
they or any of them shall be punished, on conviction thereof, by imprisonment in 
the penitentiary for not more than one year or bv a fine of not less than $50. 

XIV. All marriages celebrated beyond the limits of this island which are valid 
according to the laws of the country wherein they were celebrated or contracted 
ishall be likewise valid in this island, and shall, therefore, have the same force as if 
they hM been celebrated according to the laws in force in this island. 

XV. No marriage between relatives within the prohibited degrees or between or 
With infants under the prohibited ages shall be declared void except by a decree 
of the district court upon proper proceedings being had therein; and in case of 
minors, no person who may be over the prohibited age shall be allowed to applv for 
or obtain a decree of the court declaring such marriage void, but such minor may do 
so; and m the case of a female, the court may, in its discretion, grant alimony until 
sne becomes of age or remarries; and all children of marriages so declared void as 

12558— 15 



226 REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 

aforesaid shall be deemed and held as legitimate, with the right of inheritance from 
both parents; and also in case of minors, if the parents should. live together until 
they arrive at the age under which marriage is prohibited by this order, then and 
in that case such marriage shall be deemed legal and binding. 

XVI. All persons now living in concubinage are enjoined to marry without further 
delay, thereby honoring the mother of their children, legitimizing their offspring, and 
fulfilling their duties as good citizens in conformity with the laws of the land. 

DIVORCE. 

XVII. A divorce from the bond of marriage may be granted only where one of the 
parties has committed adultery during the marriage: Provided, That in such case the 
innocent party only may remarry: And provided, That legal separation, without per- 
mission for remarriage, may be granted for drunkenness, cruelty, or desertion: And 
provided, That marriage may be judicially annulled in the following cases: 

Section 1. When such marriage was contracted when either party thereto had a 
former wife or husband living, unless the former marriage had been lawfully dissolved 
because of adultery of the other party to the former marriage. 

Sec. 2. Where such marriage was contracted during the lunacy of either party. 

Sec. 3. Where either party was matrimonially incapacitated at the time of the mar- 
riage and has continued so. 

Sec 4. Where either party had not arrived at the age of legal consent to the con- 
tract of marriage, but in such cases only at the suit of the party not capable of con- 
senting and before reaching such age of consent. 

Sec 5. The provisions of this article shall not invalidate any marriage heretofore 
solemnized according to law or affect the validity of any decree or judgment of divorce 
heretofore pronounced. 

XVIII. When a marriage has been annulled for causes specified in Paragraph XVII, 
the persons and property of the children shall remain in the control of the father, 
passing on his death to the mother. As regards the property of the couple whose 
marriage is annulled, each one acquires the ownership and administration of his or 
her share, and a division is made just as if a dissolution of matrimonial partnership 
caused by the death of one of the parties was being treated of. 

XIX. Where the court shall grant a divorce from the bonds of matrimony the 
custody of the children under 3 years of age shall be given to the party decreed to 
be entitled to such divorce. But where children under 3 years of age have been 
placed in the custody of the mother under the above provision, although the father 
has been decreed to be entitled to such divorce, said father shall be allowed to obtain 
the custody of them after they have arrived at the said age of 3 years by petition to 
the court granting said divorce, unless it is shown that he is unfit for such custody. 
Where the court shall grant a legal separation, as hereinbefore provided, the custody 
of the children shall be decreed in the manner as above specified for absolute divorce; 
and where a legal separation shall be decreed in favor of the wife, the court shall 
also decree such sum to be paid monthly as alimony as may be equal to one-half of 
the income of the husband, but in no case less than a sum sufficient to support the 
wife and such children as may have been committed to her custody according to 
their condition in life; said alimony to be paid as long as the separation continues. 
Property rights upon the death of either party shall remain undisturbed by the 
separation. 

In case of absolute divorce the property rights of the parties shall be as follows: 

Section 1. The guilty party shall lose all that may have been given or promised 
by the innocent party or by other persons on the latter' s behalf, and the conserva- 
tion of everything received by the innocent party, together with the right of claiming 
all that has been promised by the guilty party. 

Sec 2. The transfer of all conjugal property to the innocent party, and on petition 
of the wife when her husband is the guilty party the loss by the latter of the right 
to administer her property. 

Sec 3. When innocent the husband retains the administration of the property of 
the wife, she being entitled to alimony only. 

XX. Marriage contracted in good faith, although null, shall be valid and effective 
while lasting, and children born therein shall be legitimate. 

XXI. When good faith operates on the part of one of the contracting parties only, 
such party and the children shall benefit as above stated. 

XXII. Unless proved to the contrary, good faith is always presumed to exist. 

XXIII. Where there has been good faith on both sides, male children remain 
under the father's care and female children under the mother's in case of annullment 
of marriage. • In case of good faith on one side only, children of both sexes shall 
remain under the care of the aggrieved person, but in all cases children of less than 
3 years of age must remain in the mother's care until reaching that age. 



BEPOBT OF BEIGADIEE-GENEEAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 227 

XXIV. The parents, acting of common accord, can dispose of the children differ- 
ently than mentioned in the last paragraph if they wish. 

XXV. Decree of nullity of marriage shall produce the same effect respecting con- 
jugal property as divorce, but the party who shall have acted in bad faith loses the 
part of profits which would otherwise come to him. 

XXVI. Decree of nullity must be inscribed in the same register in which the entry 
of marriage is made. 

XXVII. The district courts established by General Orders 114, c. s., these head- 
quarters, have exclusive jurisdiction in all questions, suits, or actions regarding mar- 
riage and divorce, but appeal from their decision may be taken to the supreme court. 
They may grant absolute divorce or legal separation, according to the equity of the 
case, without regard to the form or ceremonial by which the marriage was solemnized: 
Provided, That the provisional court established by General Orders 88, c. s., these 
headquarters, shall have concurrent jurisdiction with said district courts, under this 
order, between the classes of persons over whom it is given jurisdiction in other cases 
by said order. 

XXVIII. Hereafter no person shall commence any action for divorce in any court 
of this island unless such person has been a bonafide resident of the island for the 
period of twelve months. Evidence of such residence satisfactory to the judge trying 
the case will be required by the judge before granting any judgment or divorce. 

XXIX. The judicial order published in No. 71 of the Official Gazette of Puerto 
Bico, under date of March 24, 1899, and all laws and parts of laws inconsistent here- 
with are repealed. 

By command of Brigadier-General Davis: 

\ > 

Adjutant- General. 



Appendix I. 

[Translation.] 



A Beview of the Social, Economic, and Industrial Conditions op the Island 
op Puerto Bico Immediately Breceding Occupation by the United States, by 
Dr. Cayetano Coll y Toste, Civil Secretary. 



SOCIAL CONDITIONS. 

The island of Buerto Bico at the time of its final occupation by the United States 
pursuant to the treaty of Bans was a Spanish colony recently established under a 
specially autonomic regime. The mother country had at last recognized the right of 
the Buerto Bican colony to govern itself. 

The Spanish Government had, by virtue of the royal decree of the 25th of November 
of the year 1897, granted the autonomic charter to the people of Buerto Bico, and on 
the 9th of February of the year 1898 the Governor-General, Don Manuel Macias, as 
delegate of the Spanish nation, inaugurated the provisional insular cabinet, composed 
of a president and five secretaries, namely, president of the cabinet, secretary of grace 
and justice and state, secretary of finance, secretary of public instruction, secretary 
of public works and communications, and secretary of agriculture, industry, and c Dm- 
merce. He at the same time abolished the old organizations, the office of the general 
intendant of the treasury, the council of administration, the technical inspection, etc. 

On the 11th of February, 1898, the acting secretaries took charge of their offices 
and proceeded to reorganize the services of the colonial government. On the 1st of 
March the governor ordered the election of insular representatives, to take place on 
the 27th of the same month, in order that on April 25 the chambers might be consti- 
tuted by popular suffrage; but on the 21st of April the constitutional guarantees were 
suspended by him on account of the preparations for the war between Spain and the 
United States, orders being given to rigorously enforce the law of public order of 
April 23, 1870. On the following day martial law in the military district of Buerto 
Bico was proclaimed and the meeting of the insular chambers postponed. 

On May 12 San Juan was attacked by the squadron under command of Admiral 
Sampson. 

On the 4th of July the Governor-General convoked the insular chambers for the 13th 
day of the same month; and on that date, at the meeting of the insular parliament, 
the council and representatives being present, the general above referred to, as dele- 
gate of the mother country, read the message delivering the management of the 



228 REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 

interests of the country into the hands of the men elected by the vote of the people,, 
and approved the colonial statute on July 20. 

The insular chambers had then been constituted and a responsible government 
established with the Governor-General at its head as delegate of the mother country 
and as a supreme bond of national unity. 

It was not possible to establish the municipalities by popular suffrage owing to- 
the American invasion, which began in the latter part of July, at Guanica and Ponce. 
.The town councils continued to be governed by the municipal law of 1896, and the 
towns are still administered under it with the exception of the modifications intro- 
duced in that law through the general orders of the American military government. 

Such were the social conditions existing in the island previous to" the American 
occupation, as far as the administrative-political order is concerned. 

Before the establishment of autonomy that regime consisted of a governor-general 
and a civil secretary; a board of authorities composed of the governor-general, the 
bishop, the military governor commanding the post, the chief commander of the 
navy, the president of the territorial higher court, the "fiscal" of said court, the 
intendant-general of the treasury, and the civil secretary; a council of administration 
consisting of the aforesaid personalities to which were added the lieutenant-colonel of 
volunteers, five provincial deputies, four members appointed by the King, two coun- 
selors, with power to bring any matter before the assembly, one secretary, two first- 
class officials, five fifth-class officials, two first-class clerks, one second-class clerk, two 
third-class clerks, one doorkeeper, and one janitor. 

The municipalities of the island rendered their accounts to a provincial deputation 
composed of a president, one vice-president, and nine deputies, and having one sec- 
retary and one hundred and seventeen employees of different ranks. The provincial 
deputation had its own budget of receipts and expenditures independently of the insu- 
lar treasury and those of the municipalities. The municipal councils defrayed the 
expenses of the deputation by means of a provincial assessment. 

Reporting directly to the governor-general there were the district delegates of San 
Juan and Ponce; the technical boards of public works, education, communications, 
and health; the territorial higher court in San Juan and criminal higher courts at 
Ponce and Mayaguez, and to the higher courts all the primary courts, two at San Juan, 
and one each at Caguas, Humacao, Vega Baja, Guayama, Mayaguez, Arecibo, Agua- 
dilla, San Gernutn, and Utuado. 

There depended also on the governor-general the provincial board of education, 
composed of the governor-general as president and the "fiscal" of the court of 
appeals, a judge of first instance, a councilman of the municipal council of San Juan, 
the director of the institute, the director of the normal school, the pro visor of the 
episcopate, the two inspectors of public instruction and four heads of families as vot- 
ing members, one secretary, three officials, and one warden or janitor. In every town 
there was a local board of education. In San Juan, an institute of higher education 
with fourteen professors and five subordinate employees; one normal school for male 
teachers with twelve professors and two subaltern employees; one normal high school 
for female teachers, with ten professors, and elementary, auxiliary, country, and adult 
schools throughout the island. 

There were also established one provincial board of agriculture, industry, and com- 
merce; one chamber of commerce, industry, and navigation; one board of harbor 
works in San Juan, one at Ponce, and another at Mayaguez. 

As to the judiciary, the territorial higher court in San Juan continued as hereto- 
fore with a president, a "fiscal" or attorney, a hall president, five magistrates, an 
assistant attorney, an adA^ocate attorney, three hall secretaries, a court physician, and 
eighteen subordinate employees; the criminal higher courts at Ponce and Mayaguez, 
with a president, a ' ' fiscal ' ' or attorney, two magistrates, an assistant attorney, a sec- 
retary, a court physician, and a hall officer; and the primary and municipal courts. 
Thus the judiciary remained exactly as it had been during the worst period of colo- 
nial times, except that a very few natives had been appointed to office. There also 
continued the same nine offices of registrars of deeds and the twenty-five offices of 
the notaries. 

In the religious order there was no change whatever; one Catholic episcopate with 
one peninsular bishop, one Catholic cathedral with its chapter, nearly all of its canons 
being native Spaniards, and a Spanish Catholic clergy in all the prebends throughout 
the island with the exception of some insular coadjutors. 

In public education few changes were made, notwithstanding the existence of a 
department especially devoted to this particular branch. There were in the island 
497 schools, to which 7,157 girls and 15,108 boys assisted, making a total of 22,265 
pupils. 

The postal and telegraph service during the autonomic period continued exactly as 
it had been before — the same methods of carrying the mails by land and sea and of 



EEPOET OF BEIOADIEE-GENEEAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 229 

transmitting messages by wires and cable. Since 1870 we are in commmiication by- 
cable with foreign countries over the lines of the "West India and Panama Company, 
Limited. The steamers of the Spanish, French, German, and American trans- 
Atlantic and intercolonial lines have also contributed to-the mail service of the island. 

This island, which in 1797, according to the census of that year, contained 138,758 
inhabitants, had reached in 1897 a population of 899,394, made up as follows: Whites, 
573,187; mixed races, 241,900; negroes, 75,824; besides over 7,014 belonging to the 
army, 368 to the navy, and 1,101 convicts, which shows the great increase of its pop- 
ulation during the present century. 

Public opinion was represented by the following newspapers: La Correspondencia, 
El Boletin Mercantil, La Union, El Buscapie, El Liberal, El Pais, El Ensayo Obrero, 
El Listin Comercial, El Magisterio, El Boletin Eclesiastico, in San Juan; La Demo- 
cracia, El Autonomista, El Domingo Alegre, El Listin Mercantil, in Ponce; El Impar- 
tial, El Diario Popular, La Bruja, in Mayaguez; El Criterio, in Humacao, and a few 
others in the rest of the towns of the island, and the spirit of association for the prog- 
ress and advancement of the island was represented by the "Economical Society of 
Friends of the Country," whose foundation dates back to 1813; the bar association, 
established in 1840; the Puerto Bican Atheneum, established since 1875; the colleges 
of notaries and solicitors, since 1874, and the Medico-Pharmatheutical Mont-de-Piete, 

since , and the several savings and mutual benefit associations scattered over the 

island, and the provincial and local committees of the liberal and radical parties, 
which strive for political mastery and the control of the government of the island. 

It may be said that the only change brought about by the charter of autonomy in 
the Puerto Rican colony was of a political administrative order. 

II. 

ECONOMIC CONDITIONS. 

Agriculture is the principal basis of the wealth of the island of Puerto Eico, but 
it has been so overburdened with taxation that it has failed to attain a truly flourish- 
ing condition. 

The insular budgets amounted to about 4,000,000 pesos, wbile those of the provin- 
cial deputation and municipalities reached to about 8,000,000 pesos. Thus the tax- 
payers have had to defray the annual expenses of the official centers, amounting to 
12,000,000 pesos. 

Of this amount half a million went toward meeting the expenses of the ministry 
of the colonies, something over 1,500,000 toward supporting the army, and the bal- 
ance was applied to paying the Catholic clergy, canons, prebends, civil and military- 
pensions, religious orders for men and women, and a multitude of employees of dif- 
ferent classes and ranks. 

Public instruction occupied in the budget of the insular treasury a secondary place, 
and the greater part of the expenses of education was defrayed by the municipalities. 

Regarding the construction of highways and public roads, they were nearly all in 
embryo or under consideration, excepting the central highway that leads from San 
Juan to Ponce. 

These proceedings in the budgets of the island were not due to ignorance of eco- 
nomics on the part of rulers, but rather, be it said with shame, to a refined malice 
and injustice toward the people of Puerto Eico. The colonial minister, Don Diego 
Lopez Ballesteros, on June 21, 1864, on submitting the budget of Puerto Eico for the 
fiscal year 1864-65 to the approval of the Queen of Spain, took occasion to remark 
that "the budgets of the colonies would never be what they should as long as 
the expenses of the fiscal and defense services exceeded those devoted to public edu- 
cation and the promotion of whatever tended to develop production and commerce 
without unjustly burdening the substance of taxpayers." 

These were the words of the colonial minister in 1864, and in 1897, that is to say, 
thirty-three years later, public education and works for the advancement of the 
country continued in the budgets of the island to be placed far below the appropria- 
tions for maintenance of the army and navy and for the expenses of the Government. 

The economic condition of the island, therefore, could not, under the Spanish 
domination, come up to the level it should have reached if the great fertility of its 
soil and the spirit of civilization which it has displayed in some other directions 
are taken into account. 

The island has an area of abont 9,500 square kilometers, out of which 8,525, i. e., 
2,089,761 cuerdas, were variously cultivated and utilized. 

The agricultural statistics of the country for 1897 show that in that year the total 
number of property holders was 50,733 and the total number of agricultural estates 
60,953, estimated at from 48,000,000 to 49,000,000 pesos. 



230 REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 

Of these agricultural estates 61,498.23 cuerdas were dedicated to the cultivation of 
sugar cane; 122,399.76 cuerdas to coffee plantations; 4,264.07 cuerdas to tobacco; 
93,511.08 cuerdas to the cultivation of minor fruits; 16,277.23 cuerdas to other culti- 
vation; 1,127,537.55 cuerdas to pasture lands, and 664,273.37 cuerdas to other 
products, with a total value of 48,644,584 pesos. 

It may be seen, by these statistical data, that more than one-half of the arable land 
in the island is devoted to stock farming; the land under the heading "other prod- 
ucts" has not yet been duly exploited. 

There were in the stock farms, in that year, 395,792 head of live stock, including 
67,751 horses, 4,464 mules, 717 donkeys, 303,612 head of black cattle, 2,055 sheep, 
5,779 goats, and 13,411 hogs. 

If horses, mules, and donkeys are averaged at $30 each, sheep at $5, goats at $4, 
hogs at $5, and black cattle at $20 per head we have a total of from 8,000,000 to 
9,000,000 pesos worth of live stock. 

In the year 1897 the island exported black cattle to the amount of 220,680 pesos. 
Two thousand four hundred and twenty head went to Cuba; 1,471 to the English 
colonies; 1,312 to the French possessions; 304 to the Danish West Indies; 10 to Santo 
Domingo. 

The value of real estate amounted that same year, 1897, to 28,867,928 pesos 79 
centavos. 

Thus the agricultural resources, real property, and live stock of the island made, in 
the year 1897, a grand total of about 86,000,000 pesos. 

Sugar cane has been always regarded in the island as its main source of wealth. 
From 1850 to 1897 the year of greatest production was 1879, when the island produced 
154,839,562 kilograms, reaching a value of 4,645,186 pesos 86 centavos. Nevertheless, 
in the previous year, 1878, a much smaller production,. 76,536,701 kilos, obtained a 
value of 7,487,211 pesos 97 centavos. 

It should also be taken into account that in the year 1879 the Spanish Government 
taxed cane products, for the first time and contrary to sound economic principles, 
with an export duty amounting to 313,600 pesos 50 centavos. That duty remained 
in force until 1889, when the exportation of sugar was declared free. 

Cane-juice sirup and molasses have also yielded every year a fair production. In 
1897 cane-juice sirup was exported amounting to $82, 990. 78, and molasses to $403,519.62. 

In July, 1878, there remained in the island 505 sugar estates, the cultivation of 138 
having been abandoned. 

In 1880 there were central factories established in the townships of Loiza, Vega 
Baja, Aguada, Naguabo, and Maunabo, while projects were being considered for the 
establishment of more- important ones in all the departments of the island, where, 
according to statistics furnished by agricultural societies, there was ample room for 
46 such central factories. 

Upon the occupation by the United States, the island contained 249 sugar estates 
and 22 central factories. 

The island of Puerto Rico with due protection from the Government, and making 
use of modern improvements for the extraction of sugar, can easily produce more 
than 300,000 tons of sugar, inasmuch as in the year 1879 it produced 170,000 tons. 

The production of coffee is also one of the principal resources of the island, it hav- 
ing begun to increase in 1873, when its exportation had already amounted to 1,110,928 
pesos 48 centavos. It fluctuated in the neighborhood of 1,000,000 up to the year 
1877, when it reached 3,010,338.53 pesos. In 1879 it reached 5,000,000 pesos. That 
year the Spanish Government taxed said produce with an export dutv amounting to 
156,934 pesos 66 centavos. In 1881 coffee produced over 7,000,000 pesos; in 1892, 
more than 9,000,000 pesos; in 1893 and 1894, over 11,000,000 pesos; in 1896, over 
13,000,000 pesos, and in the year 1897, 12,222,599 pesos 48 centavos. 

The year of greatest production of coffee was 1879, when it reached 30,527,901 
kilograms, with a value of 5,189,743 pesos 17 centavos. In 1896 the production did 
not exceed 26,662,194 kilograms, but it amounted to 13,864,340 pesos 88 centavos in 
value. There is in the island much land suitable for the cultivation of coffee in 
which it has not yet been planted. 

Coffee production reached its highest point in 1879, when it amounted to 33, 182 J 
tons. That production can easily be doubled if land holders find due protection. 

Tobacco has also been one of our sources of wealth. The planting of tobacco has 
been in direct ratio to the protection afforded by the Government to the leaf. From 
1850 up to the present date, the year of largest production was 1880, when it amounted 
to 5,540,235 kilograms, with a value of 831,035 pesos 45 centavos. In 1897 the produc- 
tion was only 2,843,615 kilograms, but it was worth 1,194,318 pesos 30 centavos. The 
day when in Puerto Rico landholders devoted to planting tobacco find a uniform and 



REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 231 

constant protection from the Government, thereby encouraging the manufacture of 
the leaf in the country, it will be able to sustain in all the marketsof the world a 
strong competition with the best cigars and cigarettes manufactured in the island of 

There is in the island another product that has a bright future, namely, the cocoa- 
nut In the year 1897, 14,425.26 pesos worth of cocoanuts was exported to the United 
States; 8,554.26 pesos worth to Cuba, and 4,758.82 pesos worth to the Spanish pen- 
insular. - , 

There are along the coasts of the island of Puerto Rico large tracts of sandy lands 
that are fit for planting cocoanut palm trees. The day when said land, now of little 
value, be devoted to cocoanut groves, a large production of that fruit will be obtained, 
as is the case in some of the South Pacific islands. 

Another source of wealth in the island is the exportation of cattle hides. In the 
year 1897, 49,932 pesos worth of hides were exported to the Spanish peninsula, 
12 251.58 pesos worth to France, 7,028.10 pesos worth to Germany, 1,681.12 pesos 
worth to Italv, and 959.50 pesos worth to Cuba. Instead of exporting this raw 
material to foreign countries it would be better to protect the tanning and hide dres- 
sing industries in the island, which would be followed by the establishment of factories 
for & the supply of fine shoes, saddles, belts, harnesses, etc., at all the principal towns 
of the island. ,•,•,■■ 

Another source of our wealth is rum. Two hundred thousand one hundred and 
five liters, worth 20,010 pesos 50 centavos, were exported in the year 1897 to the 
Spanish peninsula; 86,508 liters, worth 8,655.80 pesos, to Africa; 15,783 liters, worth 
1 578 pesos 30 centavos, to the United States; 4,663 liters, . worth 466.30 pesos, to 
France; 18,367 liters, worth 183.70 pesos, to Italy, and 1,060 liters, worth 106 pesos, 
to Cuba. 

On the other hand, alcohol and spirits were imported from Spam, England, and 
France, though in small quantities; from the first mentioned place 717 liters, worth 
143.40 pesos; from the second, 125 liters, worth 25 pesos, and from the last, 6 liters, 
worth 1.20 pesos. But there was an importation of liquors and brandies aggregating 
178,645 liters and valued at 54,642.32 pesos, which well might have been manufactured 
in the country, without counting the ale and beer imported, reaching 563,788 liters, 
worth 111,422.76 pesos, which also could have been made in the country instead of 
paving this tribute to the foreigner. 

There are other exports of less importance, as malagueta or "bay" rum, of which 
50,177 liters, worth 7,520 pesos 55 centavos, were exported in that same year to the 
United States, and 162 liters, worth 34.30 pesos, to the Danish possessions. 

Four hundred and twenty kilograms of vegetable guano, worth 46 pesos 20 centa- 
vos, were exported in the year 1897 to the Spanish peninsula; 50,339 kilos, worth 
5,537.29 pesos, to Cuba. 

Two hundred sweet oranges, worth 50 centavos, were exported to the Spanish 
Peninsula; 939,798, worth 2,349.49 pesos, to the United States; 46,000, worth 115 
pesos, to Cuba; 17,000, worth 42 pesos 50 centavos, to the Danish West Indies; and 
1,050, worth 2 pesos 63 centavos, to the English possessions. 

Thirty liters of essential oil of malagueta, worth 120 pesos, were exported to the 
United States, and 193 liters, worth 772 pesos, to the Danish possessions. 

Five thousand seven hundred and fifteen kilograms of cocoa, worth 2,286 pesos, 
were exported to the Spanish peninsula. 

Thirty-four thousand five hundred and forty-six kilograms of achiote, or annatto, 
worth 1,727 pesos 30 centavos, were exported to Germany; 10,773 kilograms, worth 
583.65 pesos, to the United States; 8,481 kilograms, worth 424 pesos 5 centavos, to 
France; and 1,013 kilograms, worth 50 pesos 65 centavos, to the Danish possessions. 

Fifty-eight kilograms of chocolate, worth 46 pesos 40 centavos were exported to 
the Spanish peninsula. 

Sixtv thousand eight hundred and twenty-seven kilograms of starch, worth 6,690.97 
pesos, "were exported to Cuba, and 728 kilograms, worth 80 pesos 8 centavos, to 
Santo Domingo. 

Six hundred and ten kilograms of tamarind pulp, worth 61 pesos, were exported 
to the United States, and 6,984 kilograms, worth 698.40 pesos, to England. 

One thousand two hundred and eleven kilograms of "hedionda" (Anagyris fetida) , 
worth 121 pesos 10 centavos were exported to the Spanish peninsula, and 1,117 kilo- 
grams, worth 111 pesos 70 centavos, to Cuba. 

One million two hundred thousand pineapples, worth 840 pesos, were exported to 
the United States. 

Two hundred and twenty thousand kilograms of salt, worth 6,600 pesos, were 
exported to the Dutch possessions. 



232 



REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W, BATIg. 



Two thousand two hundred kilograms of fleshy sides of hides, worth 110 pesos, 
were exported to Spain. 

One thousand three hundred and forty-nine kilograms of cocoa shell, worth 13 pesos 
'49 centavos were exported to the Spanish peninsula. 

Five thousand and thirty-two kilograms of tobacco seed, worth 2,113 pesos 44 
centavos, were exported to Cuba. 

Four thousand eight hundred and ninety-nine kilos of peanuts, worth 489 pesos 90 
centavos, were exported to Cuba. 

Five thousand three hundred kilograms of ginger, worth 530 pesos, were exported 
to the United States. 

Seven thousand six hundred and four kilograms of melted tallow, worth 760 pesos 
40 centavos, were exported to the Spanish Peninsula, and 109,020 kilos, worth 10,902 
pesos, to Cuba. 

Besides, large quantities of minor fruits were exported to Cuba and Santo Domingo 
in said year 1897. 

The current coin in the island before the cession was a special silver piece recently 
ordered to be minted for Puerto Rico by Colonial Minister Castellanos. Puerto Rico 
has been the country of untold exchanges of coin, whereby she has been vilely vic- 
timized. May 5, 1857, by virtue of a royal decree, the ' ' macuquina ' ' (cut coin) then in 
circulation was called in and ordered to be exchanged for that of the Spanish peninsular 
stamp at a discount of 12 J per cent. The macuquina had been coined at Venezuela 
before the loss of that country by Spain, and its origin was as Spanish as that of the 
peninsular coin. It was only a little worn out. In order to cover the deficit resulting 
therefrom a transitory export duty of one-half real fuerte was imposed on each hun- 
dredweight of sugar, 2 reals on each hundredweight of coffee, 3 reals on each hundred- 
weight of tobacco, 4 reals on each hogshead of molasses, 8 reals on each hogshead of 
rum, and 3 per cent on all salaries and pensions paid out of the insular treasury. 
Those duties were abolished in April, 1862. The Government sent from the peninsula 
1,350,000 Spanish pesos to exchange them for the macuquina, and the insular treasury 
had to cover the deficit of $215,466.40 in order to complete the exchange, amounting 
to $1,565,466.40. In 1867 the copper coin of Santo Domingo was brought into the 
country, owing to the loss of that island by Spain. In 1867, by virtue of a royal 
decree, foreign money was allowed to circulate in the island at the following value in 
Spanish money: The United States $20, double eagle, equaled 38 escudos (380 reals 
vellon) ; the dollar equaled 19 reals; the French gold coin of 20 francs equaled 76 reals 
vellon, and the napoleon equaled 19 reals vellon. Merchants, in order to keep the 
gold in our market, gave the American eagle the value of 16J pesos, and to the Spanish 
doubloon the value of 17 pesos. The best period as to monetary conditions in the 
island lasted up to the year ] 879. By virtue of the royal decree of February 22, 1879, 
it was ordered to officially admit into circulation the Mexican silver dollar piece 
with a value equal to that of the United States — that is, 95 centavos each peso — and 
the royal order of August 6, 1881, authorized its free circulation. Then it was that 
the celebrated Hermua negotiation was carried into effect, Mexican pesos being 
obtained at 20 per cent profit. That was a gross error, in which private speculation 
took part under different forms. To write the history of that transaction does not 
belong to this place. 

In 1883 the whole country already felt the effects of that negotiation, and the cham- 
bers of commerce and official and private commissions began to act with a view to 
remedying the evil. More than 400 documents were sent to Madrid showing the 
need of applying prompt remedy to that condition of things. Mexican money was 
acquired outside the island at 59 and 60 centavos, and it was made to circulate in 
Puerto Rico with a commercial value of 100 centavos and in the official centers with 
a value of 95 centavos. The smuggler baffled the vigilance exercised by the custom- 
house officers. At last, on the 28th of October, 1895, the Mexican coin was called in 
and ordered exchanged for a special provincial coin. About 7,000,000 pesos of large 
and small Mexican pieces were withdrawn; but only 6,426,393 pesos were exchanged. 
Of the provincial money, 8,300,000 special pesos were sent and 1,060,000 pesos' worth 
of pesetas and vellons. Both amounts make a total of 9,360,000 pesos. One million 
two hundred thousand pesos were never received in the treasury, being transferred 
from the ship on which they came to the ship on which they were to return to Spain. 
Besides, 1,733,607 pesos were taken back as surplus because of the lack of Mexicans 
for which to exchange them. Both amounts make a total of 2,933,607 pesos, which 
was coined again in Madrid into peninsular money. Therefore, the exchange for 
provincial silver only amounted to 6,426,393 pesos. 

The coinage of these 9,000,000 cost Puerto Rico 362,000 pesetas. Packing, trans- 
portation, and insurance cost 423,000 pesetas. Two hundred and fifty-three thousand 



REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 233 

pesetas were paid to the Spanish Bank as interest on loan for advance of bar silver 
to coin the provincial money. The engraving of the exchange tickets that were used 
in the island for twenty-one days cost Puerto Rico 172,000 pesetas. Of that sum, 
23,764 pesetas were paid as gratuities to the personnel of the mint, 2,000 to the offi- 
cers of that particular section, and 1,600 to the personnel of the ministry of finance. 
Oh, Puerto Rico, how spoliated wert thou! 

In respect to the 480,000 pesos that came in 5-peso gold coins, some of them, up to 
the amount of 69,084 posos, were divided among the high officials, military as well 
us civil, and the rest, amounting to 410,416 pesos, were appropriated to buy a 
cruiser; that gold was therefore shipped back to the Spanish Peninsula. The first 
lot, 342,444 pesos, was sent on January 14, 1898; and the second, amounting to 68,472 
pesos, on the 3d of February of that same year. That gold then only took a trip to 
the Lesser Antilles. Thus our monetary wealth suffered a loss of 12J per cent on 
being exchanged for the macuquina; 5 per cent on the introduction of the American 
money; 5 per cent more on the exchange for the Mexican, and again 5 per cent on 
the exchange for the provincial silver. All of which added makes a total loss of 
27J per cent, and only to get a currency just as special as was the macuquina 
(called in in 1858) . Of course they assured us that it would be to our benefit to have 
a new coin with two-thousandths less of pure silver. Precisely as when a father places 
in the hands of his child a gold coin, lets _ it have it for a while, and then takes it 
.away to keep it for himself and buy the child a toy. 

There were at the capital only two banks, the Spanish Bank and the Territorial 
and Agricultural Bank, and a species of savings institution called the Popular Bank. 
The Spanish Bank was founded in February, 1890, with a stock capital of 1,500,000 
pesos, and began operations with 25 per cent, say 375,000, the stockholders having 
paid in only 50 per cent of their stock, say 750 pesos, besides a reserve fund of 15 per 
cent, making 112,500 pesos. 

This bank issued notes of from 5 pesos to 200 pesos, reaching a maximum issue in 
April, 1898, of 2,587,445 pesos. October 22, 1898, the assets of the Spanish Bank 
were, in account current, 6,331,599.79 pesos. 

- The Territorial and Agricultural Bank was founded on July 4, 1894, with a capital 
of 2,400,00 pesos, divided in four series of 6,000 shares each of 100 pesos. 

It began its operations with the first issue of 600,000 pesos. It has made five 
issues of scrip, the first on January 25,1895, for 57,000 provincial pesos; the second on 
March, 1895, for 114,000 pesos; the third on November 25, 1895, for 200,000 pesos; 
the fourth on November 25, 1895, (?) for 75,000 pesos, and the fifth on July 27, 1896, 
for 500,000 pesos. On June 15 of last year it had already redeemed 115,563 pesos of 
said scrip. Three hundred thousand pesos were held as collaterals by private parties ; 
116,000 pesos were in bonds deposited by public officials and contractors of works 
for the State, the diputacion provincial, and municipalities. In surities deposited at 
the same bank, 180,000 pesos, and held by capitalists 243,437 pesos, making a total 
of 955,000 pesos. This scrip earns an interest of 7 per cent per annum, payable 
every six months. One-third of the unencumbered scrip is held by religious com- 
munities. The assets of the bank in account current on October 14, 1898, amounted 
to 5,394,424.14 pesos. 

The Popular Bank was established in January, 1894, with the fifth of its capital, 
say 1,000 pesos. Its business is to make loans of from 25 to 500 pesos, secured by sig- 
natures or mortgages, at the rate of 12 per cent per annum. It admits deposits at 6 
per cent. 

In Ponce there was already established an association with a capital of 200,000 
pesos, called Credito y Ahorro Ponceno, which had opened business with an issue of 
2,000 shares of 100 pesos each on February 10, 1895. Its balance for December 31 of 
last year showed assets of 1,131,037.48 pesos in account current. This corporation 
also admits deposits. 

The Savings Bank of Mayaguez was founded in January, 1874, with a capital of 
2,000 pesos, distributed in 100 shares of 4 pesos each. It does not admit deposits 
under 25 centavos or above 10 pesos, and pays an annual dividend of 6 per cent 
among shareholders and depositors, besides an extraordinary dividend which is dis- 
tributed every December 31, and consists of all the profits. In addition thereto lots 
are cast every year for three prizes of 10, 15, and 25 pesos among such poor deposi- 
tors as have deposited every Sunday during six months, without interruption, either 
1 peso, 50 centavos, or 25 centavos, and have not drawn any money during that time. 
The assets of said bank on June 30, 1898, amounted to 298,791.90 pesos. 

There are other banks, more or less of the same description, in San German and 
Sabana Grande. 
The insular budget for 1897-98 showed appropriations for expenses amounting to 



23-1 REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 

3,536,342.19 pesos, while the receipts were calculated at 3,939,500 pesos. That of the 
diputacion provincial for the same year reached 1,217,700 pesos, expenses and 
receipts, and those of the municipalities, also for 1897-98, 2,814,597.84 pesos, receipts, 
and 2,811,978.07 expenses. 

INDUSTRIAL CONDITIONS. 

Industry in Puerto Rico has not reached the degree of development enjoyed by 
other countries, owing not only to the lack of active private enterprise, but to-the 
absence of the requisite protection on the part of former Spanish governments. 

Despite all these drawbacks, our old Jamaica sugar mills have been substituted by 
improved machinery and implements; and the accompanying paper on the history 
of sugar cane and its products in the island, as also the statistics of exportation of 
sugar, will reveal the progress made during the past years and furnish an idea of 
what might be obtained under proper protection. 

As to coffee, perfected mills and apparatus have been imported to dry, classify, and 
polish the aromatic bean, and thus has it been able to hold its own against the prod- 
ucts of mocha and Java in the markets of the world. Herewith we present a history 
and statistics of exportation of this staple product. 

Our tobacco is of as good a quality as that of Cuba, and until recently Habana was 
the best market for our wrappers and fillers. The Cuban growers, fearing our com- 
petition, have succeeded in prevailing upon the government to shut out our tobacco. 
Ih this country the leaf is manufactured into chewing plugs, smoking tobacco, wrap- 
pers, cigars, and cigarettes. Lately important manufactures have been established in 
the country, and should the Federal Government extend its protection to this indus- 
try it will no doubt prove a formidable rival to that of Habana and be an inexhaust- 
ible source of wealth. 

There are, besides, in the line of industry, some foundries, a number of factories 
turning out matches, soup paste, chocolate, ice, soap, candles, hats, preserved fruits, 
etc.; tanneries, distilleries, lithograph printing, cabinetmaking, petroleum refinery, 
gas and electric light plants, telephones, aqueducts, not to mention many other minor 
trades; and lastly, our marble and other stone quarries are beginning to be worked 
successfully. 

Such was — described at great strokes of the pen— the social, economic, and indus- 
trial condition of the island before the occupation by the United States. 



Statement of amounts spent in the exchange of Mexican money (1895) . 

Sent in provincial pesos $8, 300, 000 

Sent in small pieces 1, 060, 000 

$9, 360, 000 

Amount returned, not received into the Treasury 1, 200, 000 

Amount returned, in excess 1, 733, 607 

2,933,607 

Making a total investment in silver 6, 426, 393 

Sent in gold 480,000 

Sent in bronze 70, 000 

Total spent 6,976,393 

Note. — From the amount sent in gold, namely 480, 000 

the following were returned to Spain during Mr. Jose Severo QuifLones's 
term as general intendant of finances: 

On January 14, 1898, warrant of payment No. 14 $342, 444 

On February 3, 1898, warrant of payment No. 1 68, 472 

y ' 410, 916 

Then, the^ amount spent in the island was only 69, 084 



REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 235 

Statement of amounts spent in the exchange of the "macuquina" coin (1857) . 

DEBIT. 

For remittance made by the treasury of the Peninsula, on Juan 

Sanchez Toledo's account, for the exchange of "macuquina" coin, $1, 350, 000. 00 

For addition made by the treasury of Puerto Rico, to cover a deficit 
thereto 215, 466. 40 

1, 565, 466. 40 

General, expenses: 

Transportation of $1,350,000 to the port of Cadiz... $10,880.63 
Expenses incurred upon in the island (Puerto Rico) 
while putting into circulation the official coin and 

withdrawing the ' ' macuquina ' ' for shipment 25, 863. 64 

Transportation to the Peninsula of $1,761,149.70 "ma- 
cuquinos ' ' pesos withdrawn, and recoinage of same . 93 r 892. 80 

130, 637. 07 



1, 696, 103. 47 

CREDIT. 

For the benefit obtained on the recoinage of 1,761,149.70 "macuqui- 
nas " pesos at the mints of Madrid and Sevilla $1, 240, 938. 39 

4 per cent profit obtained on the drafts in favor of the treasury of the 
Peninsula for 213,835.04 pesos, for reimbursement made to the treas- 
ury of Puerto Rico 8 > 22 4. 42 

Collections for various duties on exportation, made by 
the custom-houses of the island, from August 1, 1857, 
to April 31, 1859 $341,815.36 . 

Collected for discount of 3 per cent on all salaries and 

pensions paid by the State during the same time 99, 107. 35 

F l J 440,922.71 

Collected by the custom-houses for duties, from the 1st to the 5th, both 
included, of May, 1860, to be received into the treasury 6, 684. 45 

1, 696, 769. 97 

RECAPITULATION. 

Amount of debits of this statement - - $1, 696, 103. 47 

Amount of credits of this statement 1, 696, 769. 97 

Excess, at His Maiesty's Government's order . 666. 50 



Agrarian measures of Puerto Rico. 

The cuerda.. , 75 varas per side. 

5,625 square varas. 

39, 30, 30 areas (formerly) . 

40, 79, 789 areas (at present) , 
4,079.888 square meters. 

The caballeria 200 cuerdas. 

The acre 43,560 English square feet. 

47,698 Spanish square feet. 

4,840 yards square. 

4,046 square meters. 
Note. — The acre has about 20 square varas more than the cuerda. 



San Juan, P. R., October 6, 1899. 

Sir: The slaves liberated by the law of March 22, 1873, were 'a trifle over 31,000, 

whose greater part was estimated at the value of 200 pesos each. The debt for which 

appropriation was made in the budget amounted to 700,000 pesos per year, to pay out 

7,000,000, with interest, up to the fiscal year 1889-90, when the total debt amounted 



236 REPOET OF BEIGADIEE-GENEEAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 

to 11,018,020 pesos. Out of this amount 10,996,219 have already been paid, and a 
balance of 21,801 is still outstanding. 

Very respectfully, Cayetano Coll y Toste, Jr., 

Chil Secretary. 
Brig. Gen. George W. Davis, 

Commanding the Department, San Juan, P. R. 



GOBERNADORES DE LA ISLA DE PUERTO RICO. 

1. Juan Ponce de Leon, nombrado por SS. AA., en 2 de Marzo de 1510, capitan de 
la isla en propriedad, entrego el mando, por prescription regia, el ano 1511 a 

2. Juan Ceron y Miguel Diaz, nombrados por el Almirante Don Diego Colon en 
uso de derechos reconocidos por el Consejo de Indias. Gobernaron hasta 1514, en 
que el propio Almirante los reemplazo por 

3. El Comendador Moscoso, cuyo gobierno fue muy corto, resignando la autoridad 
en el niismo ano, en 

4. Cristobal de Mendoza, quien practico la expedition contra los indios de Vieques 
y se marcho a Sevilla, sustituido a su vez por 

5. Juan Ponce de Leon, nombrado por segunda vez, el 27 de Septiembre de 1514, 
capitan de la isla con jurisdiction civil y criminal en mar y tierra. Goberno siete 
anos, y preparandose en 1520 para su segunda expedicion a Florida, conflo el mando a 

6. Antonio de la Gama, que en Septiembre de 1519 habia venido a San Juan con el 
-caracter de juez residenciador, contrayendo matrimonio con una hija de Ponce de 
Leon. Gama conservo la autoridad superior hasta principiar el ano 1521, resignan- 
vdola, por mandato del Emperador, en D. Diego Colon, quien eligio por teniente suyo & 

7. Pedro Moreno, alcalde municipal, procurador que habia sido de la ciudad, 
quien conservo el mando hasta 1529, en cuyo ano fue designado para sustituirle y 
residenciarle 

8. Anyonio de la Gama, el yerno de Ponce de Leon, cuyas gestiones no debieron de 
ser muy satisfactorias, pues en 1531 se nombro a 

9. Lucas Vazquez de Ayloon, oidor del audiencia de Santo Domingo, para que, 
asumiendo la autoridad general, procediese a residential" a Moreno y a Gama a la 
vez. Este ultimo rnarchose a Venezuela, y terminada la residencia regreso Ayllon 
a la Espafiola, en el propio ano, confiandose el gobierno a 

10. Francisco Manuel de Lando, alcalde municipal ordinario, como Moreno, y como 
aquel, nombrado su teniente por el almirante. Las funciones de Lando se prolonga- 
ron hasta 1537, en cuyo ano reivindico la Corona su derecho a designar los capitanes 
y justicias de San Juan. Esta determination fue muy celebrada en la isla, pero como 
transcurrieron siete anos sin ponerlo en practica, continuaron gobernando en ese 
periodo los alcaldes ordinarios, con gran disgusto de los vecinos que se quejaban en 
U541 de que faltaba cabeza. Por fin, en 1544 nombrose por S. M. capitan a 

11. Geronimo Lebron, que llego a Puerto Bico en 1545 y fallecio de muerte natural 
quince dias despues de posesionarse del mando. Sustituyole en el mismo ano. 

12. El Licenciado Cervantes de Loaysa, magistrado que residfa en la Espahola, y 
cuyo nombramiento recayo a petition de los vecinos de San Juan. Sus rigideces le 
;atrajeron tal desafeccion que en 1547 pedia el ayuntamiento al Monarca que no le 
dejasen a perpetuidad en el mando, porque seria perder la isla. 

13. El Doctor Luis de Vallejo ocupo el gobierno en junio de 1550 y lo conservo 
hasta abril de 1554, reemplazandole. 

14. El Licenciado Caraza, nombrado en 1555 y que goberno hasta 1561 sucediole 

15. El Doctor Don Antonio de la Llama Vallejo, quien caso con Dona Leonor 
Ponce, hija del conquistador, y goberno hasta 1564. En este ano ceso el nombra- 
miento de funcionarios civiles en la gobernacion del pais, designandose a 

16. Don Francisco Bahamonde Lugo, capitan de caballos en Flandes, quien hubo 
de acudir en persona a hacer frente a nueva invasion de caribes por la bafiada de San 
German, donde recibio un flechazo en un muslo que puso su vida en peligro. Ter- 
rnino su gobierno en 1569 y se marcho a la metropoli, de donde vino a sustituirle, a 
principios de 1570. 

17. D. Francisco de Solis, natural de Salamanca, nombrado por cuatro anos con 
775,000 maravedis de salario. El lugar de Solis lo ocupo en 1575. 

18. D. Francisco de Obando, quien continuo ejerciendolo hasta 1580, sucediendole. 

19. D. Juan de Cespedes, que murio el mismo ano. En diciembre de 1581 llego a 
la isla el nuevo gobernador. 

20. D. Juan Melgarejo, natural de Sevilla, que tuvo encargo de formar la description 
geografica del pais, y hubo de entregar el mando en 1583 al 

21. D. Diego Melendez, que cita el padre abad y que goberno la isla once anos, de 
1583 a 1594. ' 



REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 237' 

22. Pedro Xuarez, coronel, goberno interinamente en 1593 y en 1595. 

23. D. Alonso Mereado, en 1599, capitan. 

24. D. Sancho Ochoa de Castro, en 1602. 

25. D. Gabriel de Rojas, en 1603. 

26. D. Felipe Beaumont y Navarra, en 1614. 

27. D. Juan de Vargas, en 1620. 

28. D. Juan de Haro, en 1625. • 

29. D. Enrique Henriquez, en 1630. 

30. D. Ifiigo de la Mota (este murallo la ciudad de Puerto Rico) , 1635. 

31. D. Agustin de Silva, en 1656. 

32. El Maestre de Campo D. Juan Perez de Guzman, en 1661. 

33. El Maestre de Campo D. Geronimo de Velasco, en 1664. 

34. El Maestre de Campo D. Gaspar de Arteaga, en 1670. Murid en. 7 de marzo de 
1674. 

35. El Sargento Mayor D. Diego de Robladillo, en 1674, interino. 

36. El Capitan D. Baltasar Figueroa, en 1674, interino. 

37. El Maestre de Campo D. Alonso Campo, en 1675. 

38. El Maestre de Campo D. Juan Robles, en 1678. 

39. El Maestre de Campo D. Gaspar de Andino, en 1683. 

40. El Maestre de Campo D. Gaspar de Arredondo, en 1690 hasta 1695. 

41. El Sargento Mayor D. Tomas Franco, hasta 1698. 

42. El Sargento Mayor D. Antonio Robles, hasta 1699, interino. 

43. El Maestre de Campo D. Gaspar de Arredondo, goberno el ano 1699. 

44. El Maestre de Campo D. Gabriel Gutierrez de Rivas, en 1700. 

45. El Sargento Mayor D. Diego Villaran, en 1703, interino. 

46. El Capitan Francisco Sanchez, en 1703, interino. 

47. El Capitan Pedro de Arroyo, hasta 1705. 

48. El Maestre de Campo D. Juan Morla, interino. 

49. El Sargento Mayor D. Francisco Granados, hasta 1708. 

50. El Coronel D. Juan Rivera, hasta 1713. 

51. Don Jose Carreno, en 1716, interino. 

52. El Sargento Mayor de Alonso Bertodano, en 1716. 

53. El Sargento Mayor D. Francisco Granados, hasta 1720. 

54. El Capitan de Caballos D. Jose Mendizabal, hasta 1724. 

55. El Teniente Coronel D. Matfas Abadia, hasta 1731. 

56. El Sargento Mayor D. Domingo Nanglares, hasta 1743. 

57. El Coronel D. Juan Colomo, en 1743. 

58. El Coronel D. Agustin Pareja, hasta 1751. 

59. El Teniente Coronel D. Matfas Bravo, hasta 1755. 

60. D. Mateo de Guazo. 

61. D. Felipe Ramirez. 

62. El Coronel D. Marcos de Vergara, 1766. 

63. El Teniente Coronel D. Jose Tentor, interino. 

64. El Coronel D. Miguel de Muesas, hasta 1775. 

65. El Brigadier D. Jose Dufresne, hasta 1783. 

66. El Brigadier D. Juan Daban, hasta 1789. 

67. El Brigadier D. Miguel Ustariz, hasta 1792. 

68. El Brigadier D. Francisco Torralbo, hasta 1795. 

69. El Mariscal de Campo D. Ramon de Castro, hasta 1804. 

70. El Mariscal de Campo D. Xoribio de Montes, hasta 1809. 

71. El Mariscal de Campo D. Salvador Melendez, hasta 1820. 

72. El Brigadier D. Juan Vasco y Pascual, en 1820. 

73. El Brigadier D. Gonzalo Aostegui, hasta 1822. 

74. El Coronel D. Jose Navarro, en 1822, interino. 

75. El TeDiente General D. Miguel de la Torre, Conde de Torrepando, hasta 1837. 

76. El Mariscal de Campo D. Francisco Moreda, hasta 1837. 

77. El Mariscal de Campo D. Miguel Lopez Banos, hasta 1840. 

78. El Teniente General D. Santiago Mendez Vigo, hasta 1844. 

79. El Teniente General Conde de Mirasol, hasta 1847. 

80. El Mariscal de Campo D. Juan Prim, Conde de Reus, hasta 1848. 

81. El Teniente General D. Juan de la Pezuela, hasta 1851. 

82. El Mariscal de Campo Marques de Espafia, hasta 1852, interino. 

83. El Teniente General D. Fernando de Nbrzagaray, hasta 1855. 

84. El Teniente General D. Andres Garcia Camba, en 1855. 

85. El Teniente General D. Jose Lemery, hasta 1857. 

86. El Teniente General D. Fernando Cotoner, hasta 1860. 

87. El Teniente General D. Rafael Echague, hasta 1862. 

88. El Brigadier D. Rafael Izquierdo, en"l862, interino. 

89. El Teniente General D. Felix Maria de Messina, hasta 1865. 



238 REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 

90. El Teniente General D. Jose Maria Marchesi, en 1867. 

91. El Teniente General D. Julian Juan Pavia, en 1869. 

92. D.- Jose Laureano Sanz, Teniente General, en 1870. 

93. D. Gabriel Baldrich, Teniente General, en 1872. 

94. D. Ramon Gomez Pulido, Teniente General, en 1872. 

95. D. Simon cle la Torre, Teniente General, en 1872. 

96. D. J. Martinez Plower, Teniente General, en 1873. 

97. D. Rafael Primo de Rivera, Teniente General, en 1873. 

98. D. Jose Laureano Sanz, Teniente General, en 1875. 

99. D. Segundo de la Portilla, Teniente General, en 1877. 

100. D. Manuel de la Serna, Teniente General, en 1878. 

101. D. Eulogio Despujols, Teniente General, en 1881. 

102. D. Segundo de la Portilla, Teniente General, en 1884. 

103. D. Miguel de la Vega Inclan, Teniente General, en 1884. 

104. D. Ramon Fajardo, Teniente General, en 1884. 

105. D. Luis Daban, en 1885, Teniente General. 

106. D. Romualdo Palacio, Teniente General, 1887. 

107. D. Juan Contreras, interino, Mariscal de Campo, 1887. 

108. D. Pedro Ruiz Dana, Teniente General, 1888. 

109. D. Jose Lasso Perez, Teniente General, 1892. 

110. D. Antonio Daban, Teniente General, 1893. 

111. D. Jose Gamir, Teniente General, 1895. 

112. D. Manuel Delgado Zulueta, interino, General de Division, hasta el 15 de 
Febrero de 1896. 

113. D. Sabas Marin, Teniente General, hasta el 4 de Enero de 1898. 

114. D. Ricardo Ortega, General de Division, 4 de Enero 1898, hasta el 11 del mismo 
rnes, interino. 

115. D. Andres Gonzalez Mufioz, Teniente General, 11 de Enero de 1898 (Murio el 
mismo dia.) 

116. D. Ricardo Ortega, General de Division, 12 de Enero 1898, interino, hasta 2 
de Febrero de 1898. 

117. D. Manuel Macias y Casado, Teniente General, desde 2 de Febrero de 1898, 
hasta 16 de Octubre de 1898. 

118. D. Ricardo Ortega, General de Divison, interino, desde el 16 de Octubre de 
1898, hasta el 18 del mismo, en que hizo entrega del Gobierno General de la Isla al 
Major-General John R. Brooke. 



HUEACANES DE LA ISLA DE PUERTO RICO. 

Julio de 1515. — Los Oficiales Reales de Caparra dan cuenta al Monarca de este 
hurAcan que causo la muerte de muehos indios. 

4 de Octubre de 1526. — Juan de Vadillo da cuenta al Monarca de esta tormenta, que 
derribo la mayor parte de esta Ciudad. Tenia la Capital entonces cinco afios de 
fundada. 

26 de Julio de 1530. — El Gobernador Olando, da cuenta de ella al Gobierno. 

23 de Agosto de 1530.— M. 

31 de Agosto de 1530.— -Id. 

Julio y Agosto de 1537. — En estos dos meses hubieron tres tormentas sin poder pre- 
cisar los dias. Datos de la biblioteca de Tapia. 

21 de Setiembre de 1615. — La refiere el Padre Vargas. El Monarca concedio 3,000 
ducados para componer la Iglesia Catedral. 

1740 (Sin precisar mes) . — La describen Nogaret y Ledrii, dice destruyo un bosque 
de palmeras que estaba eerea de Ponce. 

28 de Agosto de 1772. — La describe Fray Ifiigo Abad. 

4 de Setiembre de 1804- — Lo describe Moread de Jonnes. 

23 de Julio de 1813.—L& describe el Intendente Ramirez en el Diario economico. 

23 de Julio de 1814- — La describe tambien el Intendente Ramirez. 

21 de Setiembre de 1819. — (San Mateo) La describe D. Pedro Tom&s de Cordova, 
Secretario de Gobierno. 

26 de Julio de 1825. — (Santa Ana) Id. 

2 de Agosto de 1837. — (Los Angeles) la cita D. Jose Julian Acosta. 

18 de Agosto de 1851. — (San Agapito) la cita Acosta. 

12 de Octubre de 1867. — (San Narciso) la describe D. Vicente Fontdn, Oficial de 
Hacienda. 

13 de Setiembre de 1876.— (San Felipe). 
16 de Agosto de 1893. — (San Roque). 
8de Agosto de 1899. — (San Ciriaco). 



REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 239 

' Appendix J. 

Banco Espanol de Puerto Kico, Central Office at San Juan. 

Statement of cash on the 30th of September, 1899. 

In American gold , $27,040.00 

In American silver, nickel, and bronze 997. 37 

In American bank notes 7, 299. 00 

In foreign gold (Spanish, English, etc.) 3, 781. 00 

In provincial silver (provincial pesos) 1, 525, 184. 75 

In bank notes (Banco Espanol de Puerto Rico) 678, 570. 00 

Bank notes of Banco Espanol de Puerto Rico in circulation on the 30th 
of September, 1899 (without making deduction of these that may now 
be in our branch office at Mayaguez) (provincial pesos) 1, 015, 470. 00 

Statement of cash in our branch office at Mayaguez on the 28th of September, 1899. 

In provincial coin (pesos) $209, 766. 87 

Bank notes (Banco Espanol de Puerto Rico) 6, 870. 00 

As we have not yet received the statement of cash in our branch office at Mayaguez 
corresponding to the 30th of September ultimo we can not fix it now, and it is also 
very difficult, if not impossible, for us to fix those of other bank establishments, as 
they have not yet published their statements, and therefore they are unknown to us. 

San Juan, P. R., October 2, 1899. 

Carlos M. Soler, Subdirector. 



San Juan, August 10, 1899. 
Brig. Gen. Geo. W. Davis, 

Governor of Puerto Rico. 

Honorable Sir: I have the honor to answer your letter of the 7th instant, which 
1 have just received. 

The emission of bills of this bank reached its maximum in April, 1898, going as 
high as $2,587,445, money of Puerto Rico, and which was in circulation almost in its 
totality. 

The bills issued amount to-day to $1,794,040 of the said money, but yesterday, the 
9th August, at 3.30 p. m. (hour of striking the cash balance) , there were only in cir- 
culation bills for $907,645, we having in our safes the remaining $886,395. 

The special silver money which Spain put in circulation on account of the exchange 
for the Mexican money owing to the orders of the 6th December, 1895, and 27th 
February, 1896, amounted as under: 

In money of one silver peso $5, 561, 000 

In fractional money 1, 015, 000 

In copper 70, 000 

It can be calculated that of the copper coin there does not remain in the island 
above 45,000 pesos. 

At the return of the Spanish troops to their homes they carried away with them 
about $600,000 in 1-peso pieces, and estimating in $100,000 the drawing of money for 
private individuals, we are not far out of the truth in giving the following calculation 
of the stock of the special money in the island: 

Money in 1 silver peso $4, 875, 000. 00 

Money in fractional peso 1, 000, 000. 00 

Money in copper ... 45, 000. 00 

Total 5,920,000.00 

Of this sum the Spanish Bank had in the evening of yesterday in the safes: 

Of the Central $1, 576, 500. 09 

In the Branch at Mayaguez 240, 000. 00 

Total ■. 1,816,500.09 

The Banco Territorial, about 175, 000. 00 

The Credito and Ahorro Ponceno 700, 000. 00 



2-40 



REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAD GEO. W. DAVIS. 



Without being able to ascertain the stock of the Colonial Bank in Puerto Rico money, 
as we have never seen any of their balance sheets. 

The remaining $3,228,500 to complete the calculated stock is distributed between 
the treasury of the State and a very small portion in the hands of the corporation and 
private individuals. 

Before finishing allow me to state also that the currency suffers greatly the lack of 
coin, because, according to. our judgment, it is far from being exact the idea noted down 
by the commission and imported to the honorable President that since September 
and October have come into the country $5,000,000 in American money. 

This bank has a special pleasure in acquainting you that it shall always be at your 
orders to furnish you all the information you may deem necessary, having a great 
honor in giving you whatever datums you may require and consider of utility. 
I have the honor to remain, honorable sir, yours, most respectfully, 

Carlos M. Soler, Subdirector. 

Appendix K. 

Classification, extension, location, and valuation of government lands in Puerto Rico. 
[Compiled from information furnished by Dr. Cayetano Coll y Toste, civil secretary.] 



Names of towns and barrios. 



Names of properties. 



Number 

of cuer- 

das. 



Class. 



Value.. 



Aibonito: 

Cuyon 

Bayamon: 

Guaraguao Arriba. 
Do 

Catano 

Babo Rojo: 

Boqueron 

Llanos Costa 

(Maritime zone) . 
Carolina. 



Cayey: 

Guabate . 



Ceiba . 



Los Oficiales 

Ensenada de Pueblo Viejo. 
Sienega de la Mar 



Ciales: 

Alto Viejo 

Cordilleras 

Fronton 

Cialitos 

Toro Negro 

Fozas 

Fajardo: 

Guayacan , 

Rio Arriba 

Quebrada Vuelta 

Sabana Pitahaya and 
Rio Abajo. 

Rio Arriba 

Guayama 



Placeres 

El Molino pitahaya 

Ucarillo 

Mangrove lands of Laguna San 
Jose up to the outskirts of San 
Juan. 

Mangrove lands of Laguna Torre- 
cillas and Cano Hojo Mulas. 



Santana 

Mangrove lands of Laguna Pinones 

Cano Hoyo Mula. 
Mangrove lands of Laguna Mata 

Redonda and Cano San Jose. 
Mangrove lands of Canuelos and 

Aguas Claras. 
Mangrove lands of Puerto and 

Playa Macho. 
Mangrove lands of Ensenada 

Honda. 
Sierra de Luquillo 



Arroyo 

Simarronas .. 
Sumideros ... 
Vega-Grande 

Sierra 

Zanjones 



On the coast . 



Caoba, Cabezas, etc. 
Luquillo 



Guayanilla: 

Boca 

Do.... 
Do.... 

Pasto 

Do.... 

Juana Diaz: 

Guayabal. 

Do.... 

Do.... 

Lajas 



Palo quemado 

Mangrove lands of Jobos, Las Ma- 

reas, Cano Grande, and Punta 

Caribe. 



Cerro Barraco 

Cerro Criollo 

Ballena 

Sierra Guillarte 

Mangrove lands of port and bay. 



Las Cuevas 

Mangrove lands of coast. 

Barberia Island 

Palgueras Palmare jo 

Pto. Pasaje 



615 

70 

352-. 

704; 

150 



295 

356 

500* 
890± 

112 

400 

120 

230 

35,561 

891 
534J 
891} 
613} 
1, 249£ 
891} 



150. 
4,170 



Brush 



Inferior 

Brush 

Mangrove . . . 



do. 

do. 

do. 

Brush . 



.do. 



Woodland 
Brush 



.do 
.do 



.do 
.do 



Mangrove . 

....do 

....do 

Woodland . 



713} 
399} 


do 

Brush 


700 
800 
713} 
1,527 
175 


Rocky 

do 

Woodland 

do 

Brush 


200 
150£ 


Calcareous 


42J 




692 
70i 


Brush 

do 



$369.00' 

42.00 
211. 50 
211.35 

45.00 



Woodland 



.do, 
.do. 
.do. 
.do. 
.do. 
.do. 



213. 60 

300.45 
534.15 

67,2© 
240'.. 00 

72.00 

138. 00 

21, 336. 6Q> 

534.60 
320. 85 
534.75 
367. 95 
749. 85 
534. 75 



45.15 
2, 502. 00 



427. 95 
239. 55 



420. 00 
480. 00 
428. 25' 
916. 20' 
105. 00 

120. 00 
90.30 
25. 65 

415. 20 
42. 30 



/ 



KEPOKT OF BKIGADIEK-GENEKAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 241" 

Classification, extension, location, and valuation of government lands, etc. — Continued. 



Names of towns and barrios. 



Las Piedras. 
Loiza 



Names of properties. 



Luquillo 

Cubuy 

Luquillo 

Pinones, Hoyomula, Yaboilita 

Mata Redonda, Hoyo Mulas. and 
Cano Cangrejos . .'. 



Pitahava. 



Luquillo: 

Pitahaya 

Sabana [ Sabana" 

Mameyes Mameyes 

Mte. de Luquillo ! Luquillo 

Maricao j Mte. Maricao afuera 

Coamo: 

Cuyon 

Aguabo: 

Santa Luisa 

Pena Poise 

Rio Blanco 

Do 



Algondones. 



Do. 

Penuelas: 
Rucio. . 



Luquillo 

Algodones, Cano Prieto, Quebrada 

Palma, and Botija. 
Boea de Daguao 



Cenote . 



Do Luquillo 

_,. _ D ° ! Mangrove lands of the coast 

Rio Grande | Miquillas and Boca de Rio Grande 

Guzman 

Do j Canovanas 

Do i Lazaro 

Do Ynnque 

Zarzar Gimenez .... 

P° ! Miquillas and Boca Rio Grande. . 



Rio Piedras . 



Bay of San Juan, Cano de M. Pena 
and Laguna San Jose. 

B. Anon 

Las Peladas and Saco 



Sabana Grande 

Salinas: 

Lapa 

Quebrada Yegua Qda. Yegua . . 

Do : Cerro Aponte 

San Juan i Mangrove lands on the north of 

the" bay, Cano Galo. San Antonio, 
La Regadera, D. Bartolo, Mira- 
flores. Martin Pena, up to the 
bridge. 
Mangrove lands on the north shore 
of Cano Martin Pena and Laguna 
San Jose from bridge up to the 
jurisdiction of Carolina. 

Qda. Peces 

Costa Guanica 

Santa Isabel : pta. de Yauca. . 

Utuado: 
Sta Rosa 



El Yauco 

Cerro Morales. 

Morrillos 

Alto Seco 

Palmar 

Cordilleras 

Sumideros 

Las Nueces 



Los Oficiales de Milicia . 
Franceses , 



Yivi Arriba 

Paso Palma 

Jaguey Arriba 

Mameyes 

Don Alonso 

Caguanas 

Angeles 

Do 

Yega Baja: 

Pugnado Afuera 

Do 

Vieques: 

Puerto Real 

Do 

Puerta Diablo 

Puerta Ferre 

Do Cavo Manuarqui. 

Do : cavo Real 

Do I Cerro Pirata 

Yauco: 

Fraile ) 

Rancheras I Las Piedras 

Almacigo Alto A 

! Mte. bo Guanica Susua, Barinas 
bajas and Boca Guanica. 



Cabeza del este 
Cavo de tierra.. 
Cayo de fuera.. 
Cayo Carenero . 



Number 

of cuer- 

das. 



4.579 
600 

1.272 
763 

1,272 



891* 
723i 
445*. 
5,088 
699J 



110 



Class. 



Woodland . 

Brush 

Woodland . 



Value. 



Brush 



Woodland . 

....do 

....do 

....do 

....do 



.do 



2| Broken. 

7134 do . 

983? do. 




160 



Second and 
third. 

Woodland 

Brush 

Mangrove 

do 

Woodland 

2,463 I do 

3,307 ! do 

2,970 do 

2491 Mangrove 

737J do 



3, 661* 

22 

250 

200 

2.463 



1,160* 
2, 790* 



Woodland 

do 



do 



310| 

3574. 
200 
703| Brush 



.do. 



100* Woodland. 
780 I Mangrove . 
119 ; Brush 



1,000 
534 
3574 

1,783| 
534* 
891' 

2,143 
257f 
178* 

200 
600 

1,776* 
7f 
12 
4311 



Woodland . 

do 

do 

....do 

....do 



Very poor 
Barren ... 



Woodland . 

Sandy 

Brush 

Sandy 



12 Rocky 



'*, 



891*1 



, 747. 40 
360.00 
763. 20 
457. 80 
763. 20 



534. 75 
434. 10 
267. 30 
3, 052. 80 
419.85 

140.00 

1.65 
428.10 
590. 25 
107. 80 

36.00 

96.00 

2, 916. 90 

13. 20 

75.00 

, 120. 00 

1,477.80 

1,477.80 

1,984,20 

1, 782. 00 

149. 8b 

221. 32 

696. 30 
1,674.15 

186.45 

214. as 

120.00 

422. 25 



60. 15 

478. 00 
71.40 

600.00 
325. 5o 
214. 35 

1.070.25 
320. 70 
534. 60 

1,285.80 
154.65 
107. 25 

120.00 
360.00 

1,065.95 
4.60 
7.25 

258. 70 
7.20 
4.65 

534. 75 



3,999 



Rocks 



Brush and 
woodland. 



2, 399. 40 



12558 16 



242 



EEPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 



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244 REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 

Appendix M. 

Office of the Auditor, 
San Juan, P. P., October £, 1899. 
Brig. Gen. Geo. W. Davis, 

Governor- General of Puerto Pico. 
Sir: I have the honor to inclose herewith statement of receipts and expenditures 
of the United States military government of Puerto Rico from July 1, 1899, to Sep- 
tember 30, 1899, inclusive, based upon the actual deposits with the treasurer and the 
amounts paid out as advances to disbursing officers upon accountable warrants, and 
payments by settlement warrants in satisfaction of claims audited and allowed: 

RECEIPTS. 

I. — Customs receipts. 

1899. 

July. Deposits by collectors of customs $137, 956. 81 

Aug. Deposits by collectors of customs 139, 682. 16 

Sept. Deposits by collectors of customs 101 , 212. 42 

Total deposits by collectors of customs $378, 851. 39 

Repayments: • 

July. Balances refunded by officers $17, 432. 07 

Aug. Balances refunded by officers 15, 990. 32 

Sept. Balances refunded by officers 11, 412. 90 

Total repayments by officers 44, 835. 29 

Deposits of funds in trust: 

July. Deposit by contractor $250. 00 

Aug. Deposit by contractor None. 

Sept. Deposit by contractor None. 

Total deposits of funds in trust 250. 00 

Total amount deposited to customs receipts $423, 936. 68 

II. — Postal receipts. 

July. Deposits by acting postmasters None. 

Aug. Deposits by acting postmasters $6, 018. 12 

Sept. Deposits by acting postmasters 5, 177. 56 

Total deposits by acting postmasters $11, 195. 68 

Transfers: 
July. Transfer from customs receipts to meet 

deficiency in postal revenues $9, 345. 11 

Aug. Transfer from customs receipts to meet 

deficiency in postal revenues 4, 256. 44 

Sept. Transfer from customs receipts to meet 

deficiency in postal revenues 3, 632. 09 

Total transfers from customs receipts 17, 234. 64 

Total deposits (including transfers) to postal receipts 28, 430. 32 

III. — Internal-revenue receipts. 

Balances turned over by secretary 
of finance: 

July 6. General balance in central treasury . . $23,764.39 

July 6. Balance of trust funds in central treas- 
ury 4,070.06 

Total balance deposited $27, 834, 45 



REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 245 

Deposits of internal-revenue re- 
ceipts: 
July. Deposits by collectors of internal reve- 
nue $11,770.20 

July. Deposit, matriculation fee by teacher. . . 12. 00 
Aug. Deposits by collectors of internal reve- 
nue 8,079.92 

Sept. Deposits by collectors of internal reve- 
nue 12,480.56 

Total deposits of internal-revenue collections. $32, 342. 68 
Repayments: 

July. Balances refunded by ofrk ers $587. 68 

Aug. Balances refunded by officers 1, 260. 34 

Sept. Balances refunded by officers 377. 50 

Total repayments by officers 2, 225. 52 

Deposits of funds in trust: 
July. Deposits of funds in trust by sundry 

persons $411. 71 

Aug. Deposits of funds in trust by sundry 

persons 72. 00 

Sept. Deposits of funds in trust by sundry 

persons None. 

Total deposits of funds in trust 483. 71 

Transfers: 
Sept. Transfer from customs receipts to meet 

deficiency in internal-revenue receipts 5, 000. 00 

Total deposits (including transfer) to internal-revenue 

receipts $67, 886. 36 

IV. — Miscellaneous receipts. 

July. Deposits for trade-mark fee $7. 50 

Aug. Deposits from sundry sources 1, 079. 35 

Sept. Deposits from sundry sources 763. 50 

Total from sundry sources $1, 850. 35 

Deposits by clerk United States pro- 
visional court : 
Aug. Deposits of fees and fines United States 

provisional court $1, 598. 15 

Sept. Deposits of fees and fines United States 

provisional court 1, 038. 80 

Total fees and fines United States provisional 

court 2, 636. 95 

Total deposits of collections from miscellaneous 

receipts 4, 487. 30 

July. Deposits of funds in trust None. 

Aug. Deposits of funds in trust None. 

Sept. Sundry deposits of funds in trust $1, 901. 00 

Total deposits of funds in trust $1, 901. 00 

Total deposits account of miscellaneous receipts 6, 388. 30 

Total receipts from July 1, 1899, to September 30, 1899 526, 641. 66 



246 KEPOET OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 

EXPENDITUEES. 

I. — From customs receipts. 

Amounts advanced to disbursing officers on accountable warrants. 

To the treasurer of Puerto Eico as 
special disbursing officer : 
July. Salaries, civil employees, department 

headquarters .' §2, 560. 49 

Aug. Salaries, civil employees, department 

headquarters 2, 631. 31 

Sept. Salaries, civil employees, department 

headquarters 2, 761. 33 

July. Contingent expenses, auditor's office, 
prior to July 1 

July. Salaries and expenses, auditor's office . . 
Aug. Salaries and expenses, auditor's office . . 
Sept. Salaries and expenses, auditor's office . . 

6,216.32 







$y, 


953. 


13 


301. 


60 








1, 684. 


58 








2, 192. 


32 








2, 037. 


82 









July. Salaries and expenses, treasurer's office. 540. 88 

Aug. Salaries and expenses, treasurer's office. 160. 00 

Sept. Salaries and expenses, treasurer's office. 210. 00 



July. Cable remittance to Secretary of War 
(salaries insular commission, July and 
August) _ 3, 543. 60 

Aug. Cable remittance to Secretary of War 

(translating laws of Puerto Eico) 235. 25 



910. 88 



3, 778. 85 



Aug. Expenses special committee to Ponce and return 148. 53 

Sept. Seal for United States provisional court 60. 00 



Total amount advanced treasurer as special dis- 
bursing officer. §19, 067. 71 

To special disbursing officer: 
Aug. Incidental expenses, department headquarters 118. 36 



To collectors of customs acting as 
disbursing agents: 
July. Salaries and expenses, customs sendee. . $9, 744. 18 
Aug. Salaries and expenses, customs sendee.. 7,853.50 
Sept. Salaries and expenses, customs service. . 8, 199. 74 



19, 186. 07 



Total for salaries and expenses, 

customs service 25, 797. 42 

Board of public works, roads, 
buildings, etc. : 

July. To director of public works §27, 227. 62 

Aug. To director of public works 27, 316. 33 

Sept. Disbursing officer, board of public works. 47,342.06 



Total for roads, buildings, etc 101, 886. 01 

Harbor works: 
July. To engineer in charge harbor 

works S3, 068. 00 

Aug. To engineer in charge harbor 

works None. 

Sept. To president board of public 

works 6, 585. 65 



Total for harbor works 9, 603. 65 



EEPOET OF BEIGADIEE-GEJSTEEAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 247 

Light-houses : 
July. To inspector light-houses ... S3, 997. 14 
Aug. To inspector light-houses ... 7, 941. 67 
Sept. To inspector light-houses ... 2, 938. 14 

Total for light-houses 814, 876. 95 



Total advanced for public works $126, 366. 61 

Quarantine office: 
July. To surgeon in chief, Marine -Hospital 

Sendee SI, 989. 30 

Aug. To surgeon in chief, Marine-Hospital 

Sendee _ 1, 982. 72 

Sept. To surgeon in chief, Marine-Hospital 

Service 1, 512. 26 



Total for quarantine office 5, 484. 28 

Superior board of health : 

July. To secretary and treasurer $1, 585. 13 

Aug. To secretary and treasurer 577. 00 

Sept. To secretary and treasurer 765. 00 

Total for superior board of health .... . 2, 927. 13 

Insular police: 

July. To inspector and disbursing officer S13, 850. 00 

Aug. To inspector and disbursing officer 12, 936. 11 

Sept. To inspector and disbursing officer 12, 668. 66 

Total for insular police 39, 454. 77 

Board of education: 

July. To disbursing officer for the board S9, 915.52 

Aug. To disbursing officer for the board 8, 804. 72 

Sept. To disbursing officer for the board 14, 752. 79 



Total for board of education 33, 473. 03 

Board of prison control: 

July. To treasurer of the board $11, 814. 00 

Aug. To treasurer of the board 6, 053. 78 

Sept. To treasurer of the board 7, 309. 61 



Total for board of prison control 25, 177. 39 

Board of charities: 

Aug. To secretary and disbursing agent S3, 580. 19 

Sept. To secretary and disbursing agent 3, 907. 96 



Total for board of charities . 7, 488. 15 

Judicial expenses, insular courts in San Juan: 

Sept. To disbursing officer, salaries substitute judges 150. 00 

Special expenditures: 
July. To special disbursing officer at Ponce, pay of jail 

guards for June, 1899 300. 00 

Expenses of municipalities: 
Aug. To special disbursing officer at Adjuntas, expenses of 

that municipality 1, 000. 00 

Aug. To special disbursing officers at sundry places, for 

relief of hurricane sufferers 12, 150. 00 



Total advanced from customs receipts S298, 954. 85 

Settlements. 

July. Amount paid on settlement of claims SI, 995. 95 

Aug. Amount paid on settlement of claims 2,188.96 

Sept, Amount paid on settlement of claims. . . 1, 499. 54 



Total settlements paid from customs receipts. . S5, 684. 45 



248 REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 

Transfers. 

To postal receipts: 

July. To meet deficiency in postal revenues. . $9, 346. 11 

Aug. To meet deficiency in postal revenues. . 4, 256. 44 

Sept. To meet deficiency in postal revenues. . 3, 632. 09 



Total for deficiency in postal reve- 
nues 17,234.64 

Sept. To meet deficiency in internal-revenue 

receipts 5, 000. 00 



Total amount of transfers $22, 234. 64 

$27,919.09 



Total amount paid from customs receipts 326, 873. 94 



II. — From postal receipts. 

Expenses postal service in Puerto Rico. 

July. To director-general of posts . . : $9, 346. 11 

Aug. To acting director-general of posts 9, 859. 79 

Sept. To acting director-general of posts 9, 158. 19 



Total for expenses postal service .' 28, 364. 09 

III. — From internal-revenue receipts. 

To collectors of internal revenue. 

Collectors' offices: 

July. Salaries and expenses $1, 864. 47 

Aug. Salaries and expenses 2, 331. 22 

Sept. Salaries and expenses 1, 891. 11 



Total salaries and expenses col- 
lectors' offices $6, 086. 80 

Insular courts outside San Juan: 

July. Salaries and 'expenses $4, 283. 70 

Aug. Salaries and expenses 11, 065. 27 

Sept. Salaries and expenses 7, 984. 28 



Total for salaries and expenses 23, 333. 25 

Office civil secretary: 

July. Salaries and expenses (of- 
fices secretary of state, 
secretary of finance, sec- 
retary of interior, director 
of agriculture, and dis- 
continued employees) ... $5, 800. 44 

Aug. Salaries and expenses (in- 
cluding offices secretary 
of state, finance and inte- 
rior, to date of discon- 
tinuance) 4,182.22 

Sept. Salaries and expenses 4, 211. 36 



Total office civil secretary 14, 194. 02 

Advisory board: 

Aug. Salaries $63.87 

Sept. Salaries 200.00 

263. 87 



Total advanced to collectors of internal revenue . 43, 877. 94 



REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 249 

To disbursing officer, solicitor-general's office, and insular courts 
■in San Juan. 
Solicitor-general's office: 

July. Salaries and expenses $1, 017. 98 

Aug. Salaries and expenses 988. 00 

Sept. Salaries and expenses 1, 018. 02 

Total for solicitor-general' s office . $3, 024. 00 

■ Insular courts in San Juan: 

July. Judicial salaries and expenses. $4,807.92 

Aug. Judicial salaries and expenses. 3,959.19 

Sept. Judicial salaries and expenses. 4,535.98 

Total for insular courts in San 
Juan 13, 303. 09 



Total to disbursing officer, solicitor-general's 

office, and insular courts in San Juan $16, 327. 09 

United States provisional court: 

July. To clerk, for salaries and expenses $1, 000. 00 

Aug. To clerk, for salaries and expenses 1, 965. 33 

Sept. To clerk, for salaries and expenses 1, 856. 33 

Total for United States provisional court 4, 821. 66 

Total advanced from internal-revenue receipts . 65, 026. 69 

Settlements. 

July. Amount paid on settlement of claims . . $135. 83 

Aug. Amount paid on settlement of claims . . 889. 55 

Sept. Amount paid on settlement of claims . . 255. 37 

Total settlements paid from internal-revenue 
receipts 1,280.75 

Total amount paid from internal-revenue receipts $66, 307. 44 

IV. — From Miscellaneous Receipts. 

Settlements. 

Sept. Paid on settlements for refunding amounts deposited 

as guaranty with proposals for contracts $1, 060. 00 

Total amount paid from miscellaneous receipts 1 , 060. 00 

Total payments from July 1, 1899, to September 30, 1899. . 422, 605. 47 

RECAPITULATION. 

Balance in hands of the treasurer of Puerto Rico, July 1, 1899 $450, 452. 83 

Total deposits (including transfers) , from July 1, 1899, to September 

30, 1899 -. 526, 641. 66 

Total 977, 094. 49 

Total payments from the treasury (including transfers) from July 1, 

1899, to September 30, 1899 422, 605. 47 

Balance in treasurer's hands at close of business, September 30, 

1899 554, 489. 02 



Which agrees with the books of his office. 

Balance in treasurer's hands — 

September 1, 1899 578, 105. 27 

September 30, 1899 554,489.02 

Reduction of balance in September 23, 616. 25 



250 REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 

Receipts from ordinary sources from July 1, 1899, to September 30, 1899: 

Deposits by collectors of customs $378, 851. 39 

Deposits by acting postmasters 11, 195. 68 

Deposits by collectors internal revenues 32, 342. 68 

Deposits to miscellaneous receipts, available 4, 487. 30 



Total ordinary available receipts $426, 877. 05 

Ordinary expenditures from July 1, 1899, to September 30, 1899: 

Advanced from customs receipts $298, 954. 85 

Advanced from postal receipts 28, 364. 09 

Advanced from internal-revenue receipts. 65, 026. 69 



Total amount advanced $392, 345. 63 

Paid on settlements: 

From customs receipts $5, 684. 45 

From internal-revenue receipts 1, 280. 75 



Total paid on settlements 6, 965. 20 



Total ordinary expenditures July 1, 1899, to September 30, 1899. . 399, 310. 83 

Excess of receipts from ordinary sources over ordinary expendi- 
tures 27, 566. 22 



Receipts from all sources (including transfers) from July 1, 1899, to Sep- 
tember 30, 1899 526, 641. 66 

Total expenditures (including transfers) from July 1, 1899, to Septem- 
ber 30, 1899 422, 605. 47 



Excess of total receipts over total expenditures 104, 036. 19 

The amounts advanced to disbursing officers on accountable warrants do not meas- 
ure the actual expenditures, which are always less. The disbursing officers usually 
have balances on hand at the close of each month varying in amounts from small 
sums to sums reaching from $10,000 to $15,000. 

The results of audited accounts can only show accurately the expenditures for any 
given period. 

A statement is herewith submitted, based upon the accounts received in the audit- 
or's office for July and August, 1899 (most of which have been audited) , showing the 
actual amounts of revenues collected in each month, respectively, and the actual dis- 
bursements allowed. 

Statement of Receipts and Expenditures for July and August, 1899, shown by 
Accounts Received in the Auditor's Office. 

The audited result is given in all cases where the accounts have been audited; and 
in a few cases in which the accounts have not been audited the receipts and expendi- 
tures, as taken from the officers' accounts, are given. 

Revenues collected, as shoivn by officers' accounts. 

CUSTOMS RECEIPTS. 

July. Customs revenues collected $136, 986. 42 

Additional charged, per audit 1, 379. 87 

$138, 366. 29 

Aug. Customs revenues collected 134, 024. 27 

Additional charged, per audit 1, 605. 29 

135,629.56 



Total for July and August $273, 995. 85 

POSTAL RECEIPTS. 

July. From 50 post-offices, per audited accounts $5, 829. 92 

Aug. From 45 post-offices, per audited accounts 5, 071. 24 

Total for July and August 10, 901. 16 



EEPOKT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 251 

INTERNAL-REVENUE RECEIPTS. 

July. Internal-revenue and miscellaneous receipts, as re- 
ported in the accounts from the nine internal-rev- 
enue districts $17, 525. 75 

Aug. Internal-revenue and miscellaneous receipts, as re- 
ported in the accounts from the nine internal-rev- 
enue districts 9, 334. 43 



Total for July and August $26, 860. 18 

MISCELLANEOUS RECEIPTS. 

July. Fees and fines, United States provisional court $1, 598. 15 

Aug. Fees and fines, United States provisional court 1, 034. 80 

Total for July and August (audited accounts) 2, 632. 95 

Total revenues for July and August, as reported in accounts 
received - 314,390.14 

Statement of Disbursements actually made for July and August, as shown by 
Accounts Received in Auditor's Office. 

from customs receipts. 

July. Salaries and expenses, custom-houses . . $7, 810. 39 
Less amount included for May and June 
at Guanica 350. 00 



7, 460. 39 
Aug. Salaries and expenses 8, 824. 14 

Total (audited accounts) $16, 284. 53 

July. Public works (accounts audited) §15, 919. 12 

Aug. Public works (accounts audited) 12, 544. 58 

Aug. Public works (accounts not audited) ... 13, 837. 52 

Total 42,301.22 

July. Light-houses $3,032.94 

Aug. Light-houses 4, 158. 45 



Total (accounts audited) 7, 1 91. 39 

July. Marine-Hospital Service (quarantine 

office) $1,672.52 

Aug. Marine-Hospital Service (quarantine 

office) 1, 972. 63 



Total (accounts audited) 3, 645. 15 

July. Superior board of health $1, 419. 52 

Aug. Superior board of health 548. 20 



Total (accounts audited) 1, 967. 72 

July. Insular police $13, 046. 94 

Aug. Insular police 12, 775. 34 



Total (accounts audited) 25, 822. 28 

July. Board of education $4, 789. 42 

Aug. Board of education 2, 788. 91 



Total (accounts audited) 7, 578. 33 

July and part Aug. Harbor works (accounts audited to Aug. 

17) 2, 837. 29 

July. Board of prison control $6, 059. 78 

Aug. Board of prison control 8, 084. 61 



Total (accounts audited) 14, 144. 39 



252 REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 

July. Treasurer of Puerto Rico, as special dis- 
bursing officer, salaries and expenses, 
department headquarters, auditor and 

treasurer $5, 023. 18 

Insular Commission, July and August. . 3, 543. 60 

Aug. Salaries, department headquarters, au- 
ditor and treasurer 5, 400. 08 



Total (accounts audited) $13, 966. 86 

July. Special disbursing officer, Ponce, pay of jail guards, 

June (accounts audited) 300. 00 

Aug. Special disbursing officer, incidental expenses, depart- 
ment headquarters (accounts audited) 118. 36 

Aug. Relief of hurricane sufferers (accounts audited) 5, 337. 20 

July. Miscellaneous claims settled $1, 995. 95 

Aug. Miscellaneous claims settled 2, 188. 96 



Total (accounts audited) 4, 184. 91 



Total disbursements from customs receipts $145, 679. 63 

DISBURSEMENTS FROM POSTAL RECEIPTS. 

July. Salaries and expenses, postal service $8, 815. 44 

Aug. Salaries and expenses, postal service 9, 290. 03 



Total disbursements from postal receipts (accounts audited) . 18, 105. 57 

DISBURSEMENTS PROM INTERNAL-REVENUE RECEIPTS. 

July. Salaries and expenses, United States 

provisional court ". $999. 37 

Aug. Salaries and expenses, United States 

provisional court 1, 589. 24 



• _ Total $2, 588. 61 

July. Salaries and expenses, insular courts in 

San Juan $3, 312. 89 

Aug. Salaries and expenses, insular courts in 

San Juan 3, 912. 95 



_ Total 7, 225. 84 

July. Salaries and expenses, insular courts 

outside San Juan $1, 905. 98 

Aug. Salaries and expenses, insular courts 

outside San Juan r-. . 8, 579. 12 



_ Total 10,485.10 

July. Salaries and expenses, collectors' offices. $1, 116. 78 
Aug. Salaries and expenses, collectors' offices. 1,834.62 





Total 




2, 951. 40 


July. 
Aug. 


Salaries and expenses, solicitor-general's 
office 

Salaries and expenses, solicitor-general's 
office 


$708. 32 
988. 00 




Total 




1. 696. 32 



July. Salaries and expenses, office secretary of 
state, secretary of finance, secretary 
of interior, and salaries of discontinued 
employees $5, 611. 71 

Aug. Salaries and expenses, office civil secre- 
retary (including offices secretary of 
state, finance, and interior, to date of 
discontinuance) 4, 013. 84 

Total 9, 625. 55 



REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 



253 



July. Miscellaneous claims settled. 
Aug. Miscellaneous claims settled. 

Total 



$135. 83 
889. 55 



025. 38 



Total disbursements from internal-revenue receipts $35, 598. 20 

Total disbursements, July and August, 1899 199, 383. 30 



Total receipts for July and August, 1899, as shown by audited 

accounts 314, 390. 14 

Total expenditures for July and August, 1899, per audited accounts. 199, 383. 30 



Excess of receipts over expenditures 115, 006. 84 

Money-order business. 





July. 


August. 


September. 


Total. 




Num- 
ber. 


Amount. 


Num- 
ber. 


Amount. 


Num- 
ber. 


Amount. 


Num- 
ber. 


Amount. 


Weekly statements ex- 
amined 


66 

1,427 

653 

844 

71 




109 

2,394 

770 

1,691 

94 

11 

16 




109 
3,617 
1,006 

2,720 

114 

4 

15 




284 
7,438 
2,429 

5,255 

279 

15 

31 




Money orders issued 

Money orders paid 

International money or- 
ders on United States 
issued in Puerto Rico. . . 

International money or- 
ders on Puerto Rico is- 
sued in United States . . 

International money or- 
ders on Cuba issued in 
Puerto Rico 


$55, 494. 01 
20, 949. 65 

35,337.93 

1, 350. 06 


$129,157.88 
19, 049. 09 

106, 490. 58 

2, 112. 53 

228.92 

420. 63 


$229, 072. 68 
32, 366. 60 

205,042.34 

3, 856. 42 

27.34 

348.69 


$413, 724. 57 
72, 365. 34 

346, 870. 85 

7,319.01 

256. 26 


International money or- 
ders on Puerto Rico is- 
sued in Cuba 















The detailed report for the month of September, 1899, required by regulations to 
be made to the Secretary of War, will be submitted within a few days. 
Very respectfully, 

J. R. Garrison, Auditor. 



Appendix N. 

October 21, 1899. 
The Adjutant-General, Department of Puerto Rico, 

San Juan, P. JR. 

Sir: In obedience to instructions contained in communication from your office, 
dated August 21, 1899 (L. S., 2292, D. P. R.), directing me to prepare and submit a 
"financial statement of general receipts, showing sources and amounts of revenue 
and statement of expenditures for all purposes, itemized under the proper heads and 
subdivisions, showing objects and amounts," this in view of having been previously 
designated by the department commander, verbally, to examine and audit the money 
accounts of miltary officers and others having reference to the receipt and disburse- 
ment^ "insular" funds, I have the honor to submit the accompanying statements, 
showing amounts received, disbursed, and remaining on hand June "30, 1899, on 
account of "customs collections" and of the "central treasury," embracing "inter- 
nal revenues," showing sources from whence received of all insular revenues of the 
island of Puerto Rico since date of American occupation. 

At the time of first invasion of Puerto Rico and occupation by our troops of Ponce 
(July 28) , Arroyo (August 1) , and Guanica the custom-houses at the two first- 
named ports (no custom-house being at Guanica) were placed under charge of mili- 
tary officers, who assumed control and continued — in a semicivil capacity as col- 
lectors of the port — to administer and exercise the functions pertaining to that office. 
As inland invasion progressed the port of Mayaguez was next similarly taken charge 
of (August 12) , and so continued under military authority. Upon the final surren- 
der and entry of American troops into San Juan (October 18) the custom-house at 
that port and the custom-houses at the several remaining ports of Humacao, Fajardo, 



254 REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 

Arecibo, Naguabo, Vieques, and Aguadilla were also soon after placed under charge 
of military officers, who have since continued in their official capacity to act as col- 
lectors of the port, rendering account of receipt of collections and expenditures and 
performing all the duties required in the administration of their office. 

That such assignments were wise, and that the duties have been ably, intelligently, 
economically, and honestly performed, is attested by the figures shown in the result 
as compared with those of the "internal revenue," which latter department was 
wholly under charge of civil (native) functionaries. 

It will be observed by reference to the statement of "customs" that there are 
items enumerated in the expenditures under, viz: "Department of public works," 
"Department of public instruction," "Judicial department," "Post-office depart- 
ment, " " Maintenance of insular police, " " Representation of the island of Puerto 
Rico at Philadelphia Exposition," "Vaccination expenses," and "Pay of prison 
guards, inspectors," etc. , aggregating $481,757.28, which properly belong to and should 
be chargeable to departments coming under the control of the ' ' central treasury, ' ' 
and which ,_ if deducted, would greatly decrease the expenses proper of customs and 
correspondingly increase its balance shown on hand, as also increase the expendi- 
tures of the central treasury. 

In addition to these amounts charged as expenditures against customs there appears 
the sums advanced to the municipalities of San Juan, Mayaguez, and Aguadilla for 
certain city improvements, aggregating $29,079.75, which amount is treated as a loan, 
and is to be returned by said municipalities. This amount, also, if deducted from the 
expenses of customs, would still further decrease the expenditure shown. 

Of the amount of customs funds drawn on the orders of Generals Miles and Brooke 
during the early part of the invasion and used by the several staff departments of the 
army for military purposes, the records show the following sums distributed to staff 
departments: Quartermaster's department, $18,368; subsistence department, $8,455.42; 
medical department, $371.59; judge-advocate's department, $16.54; total, $27,211.55. 
The greater portion of this sum, and especially that received and disbursed by regu- 
lar officers, has been accounted for by proper accounts current with vouchers, while in 
a few instances, mostly in the cases of volunteer officers, there yet remains unsatisfied 
accountability. 

When the conditions of actual Avar are considered, the very limited facilities had for 
clerical work by troops campaigning, and the absolute lack of all papers, blanks for 
vouchers, etc., together with the inexperience of many, and entire ignorance of others 
among the volunteer officers as to the accountability of public funds, added to the 
general impression that was had by many officers that they would not be required 
to account for these funds, ' ' only expend it for the general benefit of the troops and 
best interests of the service, " it is not surprising that there remains a portion of the 
amount unaccounted for. 

No one unacquainted with the early conditions here following American occupation 
can form an idea of the difficulties and obstacles encountered in the efforts to obtain 
replies and information in connection with the task of auditing the customs account, 
and properly accounting for expenditures of that fund. Much time and labor have 
been spent in the preparation of this statement, and the amount of indefinite and 
unsatisfactory information received in answer to inquiries in this connection would 
fill a large volume. Only constant and persistent delving into the various ramifica- 
tions, of irregularly kept accounts, and research, groping in the dark as it were, 
through the abyss of successive mysterious intricacies and labyrinths of Spanish 
archives, has brought about the result. 

In the accompanying statement all expenditures shown can be verified by actual 
reference to records in this office, excepting the sum of $139.78, which is charged as 
' ' amount unaccounted for. ' ' The total collections received on account of customs 
and balance in hands of customs collectors agree with the amounts shown by the 
auditor of the island. The balance in bank to the credit of the treasurer of Puerto 
Rico has been verified, and the balance shown in hands of military officers has since 
been all transferred to the credit of the treasurer of Puerto Rico. 

The statement of the central treasury is submitted as rendered by the civil secre- 
tary, excepting that the receipts and expenditures under the various heads have been 
arranged and classified with a view of making it more clear of understanding for 
higher authority; the figures, however, remain the same and are unchanged. This 
account has not been audited, and the monthly accounts, to be rendered in detail 
from February 1 to June 30, of internal revenues have not as yet been received. 

During the months of June and July Mr. William T. Kent, expert accountant, of 
the inspector-general's department, assisted me very materially in my duties in this 
direction, to whom my grateful acknowledgment and thanks for the valuable serv- 
ices rendered are due. 



REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 



255 



Following is general summary and recapitulation of all insular funds received, 
disbursed, and remaining on hand June 30, 1899: 

Received: 

On account customs collections $1, 238, 535. 93 

On account internal revenues 1, 089, 021. 94 

$2, 327, 557. 87 

Disbursed: 

On account customs collections 727, 096. 40 

On account internal revenues 1, 033, 424. 45 

1,760,520.85 

Balance 567, 037. 02 

Balance, customs collections 511, 439. 53 

Balance, internal revenues 55, 597. 49 



Balance, grand total, June 30, 1899, United States currency . . . 567, 037. 02 

Respectfully submitted. 

C. H. Heyl, 

Lieutenant-Colonel, Inspector-General, II. S. V. 

[First indorsement.] 

Headquarters Department op Puerto Rico, 

San Juan, October 25, 1899. 
Respectfully forwarded to the Adjutant-General of the Army for file with other 
appendixes to my report on civil affairs of Puerto Rico, dated September 30, 1899. 

The work of audit of civil expenditures is in progress, but can not be completed 
until all the voluminous records in Spanish are collected and arranged. 

Under Spanish domination there never was made an audit of accounts that would 
respond to the requirements of United States standards. 

The culling out of the dates is very laborious, and as the civil force is small, it takes 
much time. It will hardly be possible to complete this work before the close of the 
present calendar year. 

I think that the result of the audit of customs receipts and expenditures 
which has been thorough, is eminently satisfactory. When it was taken up, 
shortly after my arrival, I despaired of ever having an intelligent exposition of all 
the financial transactions, but by dint of most laborious effort every cent has been 
properly accounted for save about $37 of a total income of over a million and a 
quarter dollars. 

Geo. W. Davis, 
Brigadier- General, Commanding. 



Insular Fund op Puerto Rico. 

Total amount received, disbursed, and remaining on hand on. account of customs collections 
from August, 1898, to June 30, 1899, and from what source received. 



San J nan . 

Ponce 

Mayaguez 

Arecibo 

Aguadilla . 

Arroyo 

Humacao. . 
Fajardo ... 
Naguabo . . 
Vieques . . . 



Total 



Date of Ameri- 
can occupa- 
tion. 



Oct. 
July 
Aug. 
Oct. 
Sept. 
Aug. 
Sept. 
Oct. 
Sept. 
Oct. 



18, 1898 
28, 1898 
13, 1898 
14, 1898 
19, 1898 

1, 1898 
22, 1898 

1,1898 
22, 1898 

1,1898 



Import du- 
ties. 



$457, 037. 49 
424,762.13 
130, 462. 26 
53, 103. 80 
33, 250. 17 
18, 882. 60 
6, 488. 85 
3, 599. 61 



1, 298. 90 
1,128,885.81 



Export du- 
ties. 



$4, 829. 63 
13, 777. 76 
7, 344. 69 
3, 649. 48 
2, 007. 40 



Tonnage. 



118, 932. 97 

10, 213. 87 

3, 800. 96 

1,608.24 

851.52 

275. 44 

428. 35 

335. 30 

91.10 

186. 96 

36, 724. 71 



Passenger 

head 

money. 



S«45. 00 

429. 62 

71.00 



20.15 

5.00 

25.00 



1,470.77 



256 



REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 



Total amount received, disbursed, and remaining on hand on account of customs collections 
from August, 1898, to June 30, 1899, and from what source received — Continued. 



Miscellan- 
eous. 



WSJ? Consumption 
tax. mx> 



Found in 
vaults. 



Total United 
States cur- 
rency. 



San Juan . 

Ponce 

Mayaguez 
Arecibo . . , 
Aguadilla 

Arroyo 

Humacao. 
Fajardo . . 
Naguabo . 
Vieques . . 



Total 



$202. 51 

41.50 

38.44 

160. 00 

.83 



$735. 95 

195. 78 

9.85 

1.40 

.03 



1.39 



. 93 



39.49 



943. 94 



$21,387.37 
12, 527. 72 



$2,618.43 
969. 32 



574. 19 
139. 54 
140. 33 
38. 69 
15.40 



6.59 



34, 829. 83 



3, 587. 75 



$503, 
464, 
142, 
59, 
36, 
19, 
6, 
3, 

1, 



970. 92 
566. 81 
696. 52 
097. 11 
269. 64 
303. 37 
983. 21 
950. 31 
91.10 
606. 94 



1,238,535.93 



FOR WHAT PURPOSE EXPENDED. 

Custom-house expenses of Puerto Rico 

Quarantine expenses of Puerto Rico ($3, 675. 60) a 

Light-house expenses of Puerto Rico (815. 52) a 

Auditor's office expenses ($135. 89) a 

Post-office expenses, Mayaguez r 

Duties refunded 

Sanitary expenses, San Juan .' 

Harbor work, San Juan 

Vaccination expenses of island inhabitants 

Feeding poor and indigent Puerto Ricans 

Department of public works, construction and repair of roads, bridges, etc 

Department of public instruction and public schools 

Expense of maintenance of insular police 

Drawn for United States Army on orders of Generals Miles and Brooke for 

military purposes ($3, 186. 55) a 

Clerks' salaries, department and district headquarters of Puerto Rico 

Witness fees, etc. , in connection with military commissions 

Advanced for repairs to district jail, Aguadilla (loan) 

Judicial department, service, etc 

Consumption tax money paid "Diputacion provincial" 

Advanced for city water system, San Juan (loan) 

For representation of island of Puerto Rico at Philadelphia Exposition, 1899. . $1, 100. 00 

Advanced for sewerage system, Mayaguez (loan) 597. 07 

Entertainment expenses, palace, authority of Secretary of War 300. 00 

Printing, binding, stationery, etc 2, 905. 89 

Pay of prison inspector, guards, and prison clothing 1, 676. 70 

Expenses of commission and official investigations 454. 97 

Incidental expenses of insular and municipal police 435. 44 

Pay of captain of port at Fajardo 107. 35 

Miscellaneous incidental expenses 1, 000. 51 

Amount unaccounted for, no vouchers 139. 74 

April 24, less amount refunded on account of clerks' salaries, department head- 
quarters, by Maj. Gen. G. V. Henry 15. 28 

March 27, less amount refunded on account of clerks' salaries, district of Ponce, 
by Capt. E. B. Cassatt 22. 00 



$74, 695. 61 

6, 457. 82 

14, 286. 97 

1,888.62 

a 103. 84 

a 2, 180. 18 

15, 360. 85 

3. 901. 34 
28, 413. 21 

8. 539. 35 
397, 243. 31 

2, 727. 18 
50, 372. 74 

27,211.55 
12,319.09 

678. 35 
1, 413. 08 

120. 30 
43, 434. 82 
27, 069. 60 



727, 133. ( 



37.28 



June 30, balance in hands military officers 30, 508. 66 

June 30, balance in hands customs collectors 30, 478. 04 

June 30, balance, treasurer of Puerto Rico: 

On deposit with De Ford & Co., San Juan $271, 401. 66 

On deposit with De Ford & Co., Ponce 179, 051. 17 

450, 452. 83 

511,439.53 

Total United States currency 1, 238, 535. 93 

Respectfully submitted. 

C. H. Heyl, 
Lieutenant- Colonel, Inspector- General, U. S. V. 
Headquarters Drpartment of Puerto Rico, 

Inspector-General's Office, 

San Juan, P. E., October 17, 1899. 



a These amounts are reported as, and included in, ''Custom-house expenses" proper by the auditor 
for Puerto Rico, and were paid by customs collectors. Total custom-house expenses, as shown by 
auditor's figures, $84,793.19. 



REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 



257 



RECEIPTS. 

Statement of the central treasury, showing total amounts received on account of insular 
collections, distributed under the heads of the various departments, from the time of 
American occupation, October 18, 1898, to June 30, 1899. 



Department of state. 

From reimbursements 

Department of finance. 

Taxes and imposts: 

Rural, urban, and cattle 
taxes 

Industrial and commer- 
cial taxes 

Fees on property transfer 

Impost on mines 

Certificates of personal 
taxes 



Oct. 18.J.898, to Mar. 11, 1899. 



Amount. 



Pesos. 



From stamp duties: 

Pope's bull stamps 

Stamped paper 

Stamped paper for fines 

and other payments to 

the state 

Postage stamps 

Receipts and accounts 

stamps 

Bill of exchange stamps , 

Drafts for the press 

Stamps for custom-house 

documents 



From insular properties: 

Rent on insular property. 

Rent on unclaimed prop- 
erty 

" Canons " rent on build- 
ing-grounds 

Proceeds on insular for- 
ests 

Rent on buildings, census 

Sales of insular property 

. previous to the law July 
7,1882 

Sales of insular property 
following aforesaid law . 

Sales of unclaimed prop- 
erty 



128, 298. 80 

84, 693. 65 

27, 534. 79 

153. 60 

1, 628. 59 



163. 95 
5, 606. 95 



396. 85 
1, 926. 61 

123. 10 
. 41.45 

281. 11 

93.15 



Total. 



Pesos. 



242, 309. 43 



24.08 



506. 94 



14.25 
14.25 



From taxes in arrears: 
Taxes and imposts . 

Stamp duties 

Insular properties . . 



From reimbursements . . . 

Department of interior. 
From reimbursements . . . 

Department of justice. 

From reimbursements . . . 
From taxes in arrears 



Treasury transactions. 

Deposits: 

Gubemative deposits 
consigned 

Judicial deposits con- 
signed 



379. 59 

1,585.25 

342. 92 



13, 534. 98 
452. 64 
123. 53 



8, 633. 17 



559.52 



2,307.76 



14, 111. 15 
62.49 



Grand to- 
tal. 



Pesos. 
9, 845. 98 



Mar. 12 to June 30, 1899. 



Amount 
(U. S. cur- 
rency) . 



216, 284. 19 
7, 344. 63 



12558- 



223, 628. 82 



267, 983. 52 



593. 62 



31, 989. 99 

4, 931. 88, 

85. 80 

88.83 



29.07 
.60 



307. 80 
397. 90 
198. 13 



128. 53 



834. 08 



2, 119. 19 
21.50 



391,897.56 
464. 62 



-17 



Total. 



3,210.74i 



48.04 



Grand to- 
tal. 



3, 612. 



1,032.36 



834. 08 



2, 230. 55 
81.72 



5.40 
22.37 



392, 362. 18 



130,437.49i 
8,057.45 

27.77 



258 



REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 



Statement of the central treasury, shouting total amounts received on account of insular 
collections, distributed under the heads of the various departments, etc. — Continued. 





Oct, 18, 1898, to Mar. 11, 1899. 


Mar. 12 to June 30, 1899. 




Amount. 


Total. 


Grand to- 
tal. 


Amount 
(U. S. cur- 
rency) . 


Total. 


Grand to- 
tal. 


Treasury transactions— Cont'd. 

Sureties: 

Employees' sureties con- 


Pesos. 
37, 694. 33 
1,000.00 


Pesos. 

38, 694. 33 

99, 560. 23 
1, 957. 34 


PfSOS. 

363, 840. 72 
13. 02 

5, 828. 49 


837, 597. 57 
36.00 


$37, 633. 57 

74, 166. 82 
3, 310. 90 

46, 746. 93 




Private sureties consigned 




Transfer of funds: 

From internal revenue 
collectors 








Refunded; 

Advances refunded 








Consumption imposts: 

Consumption impost on 
















1554, 220. 40 
12.82 


General engagements. 






Miscellaneous. 




4.71 

147. 18 

760. 87 

26.00 

4, 889. 73 




6.78' 

210. 34 

721. 50i 

45.50 

2, 805. 68 




From outstanding debts' 








From 6 per cent interest on 








From sale of unclaimed 








From proceeds from miscel- 














3,789.80i 












Total 


648, 105. 35 


700, 158. 73 













Receipts embraced in period October 18, 1898, to March 11, 1899, converted into United States 
currency at official rate, $0.60., $388,863.21 



DISBURSEMENTS. 



Statement of the central treasury, shoiving total amounts disbursed on account of insular 
collections, distribided under the heads of the various departments, from the time of Amer- 
ican occupation, October 18, 1898, to June 30, 1899. 





From Oct. 18, 1898, to Mar. 11, 1899. 


From Mar. 12, 1899, to June 30, 1899. 




Amount. 


Total. 


Grand to- 
tal. 


Amount 
(U. S. cur- 
rency) . 


Total. 


Grand to- 
tal. 


Department of state. 

Salaries and office expenses 
of the cabinet council's 


Pesos. 

1, 669. 67 
8, 736. 69 


Pesos. 
10, 406. 36 

1, 043. 03 
172. 60 

591. 65 
33.20 


Pesos. 




$8,566.35 

86.64 
9.60 




Salaries and office expenses 
of the secretary of state 


18, 566. 35 




Salaries and office expenses 
of the local court of corn- 


166. 66 
876. 37 






Salaries and office expenses 
of post and telegraph offices . 










San German's hospital sub- 




86.64 




Salaries of medicine and 

pharmacy's subdelegation . 

Salaries of board of health. . . 


125. 62 
466. 03 




Material expenses of board 









EEPOET OF BEIGADIEE-GENEEAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 



259 



Statement of the central treasury, showing total amounts disbursed on account of insular 
collections, distributed under the heads of the various departments, etc.— Continued. 



Department of state— Cont'd. 

Salaries at lazaret, island of 
Culebra 

Salaries and expenses of the 
police force 

Rent of buildings 

Purchase of a disinfecting 
apparatus for the lazaret, 
island of Culebra 

Expenses on the increasing 
of the police force 

Salaries of the commission 
intrusted to clear accounts 
of the diputacion provin- 
cial 

Vaccination service 

Expenses on daily supplies 
of food to those protected 
at beneficencia and luna- 
tic asylum 



From Oct. 18, 1898, to Mar. 11, : 



Amount. 



Department of finance. 

Salaries of office of secretary 
of finance 

Salaries of office of supervisor 

Salaries of office of central 
treasury 

Salaries of office of subsecre- 
tary of finance 



Office expenses, conveyance 
of money, printing works, 
and allowances 

Salaries of collectors. 

Salaries of custom-house of- 
ficers 



Rent of buildings, stationery 
for collectors, and expenses 
on stamped paper and 
stamps 

Typewriting machines 

Postage stamps for official 
correspondence 



Loss on conversion of money. 

Salaries and expenses of of- 
fice of secretary of interior. 

Schools, inspectors and per- 
sonnel . . 

Salaries of the secondary in-' 
stitute 

Salaries of normal schools... 

Material expenses of the sec- 
ondary institute 

Material expenses of normal 
schools 

Puerto Rican Athenaeum's 
subvention 



Salaries in connection with 
public works 

Expenses of secretaries, pub- 
lic works 

Traveling expenses, public 
works 

Sundry expenses of public" 
works 



Salaries of post and telegraph 
offices 

Expenses of post and tele"-' 
graph offices 



200. 00 
1, 073. 14 



1, 261. 30 
400. 00 



22, 466. 18 



Total. 



Pesos. 
211. 64 



5, 604. 91 
1, 350. 90 



2, 828. 79 
4, 232. 66 



2, 103. 67 
5, 666. 15 



1,326.29 
55.40 



Grand to- 
tal. 



Pesos. 



From Mar. 12, 1899, to June 30, 1899. 



25, 400. 62 



2, 538. 99 
465. 20 



9, 632. 42 
2, 701. 48 



275. 00 
2, 426. 22 
1, 166. 66 



49.66 
2, 389. 90 



14, 831. 27 
1, 299. 95 

1, 381. 69 

85.33 

3, 004. 19 



44,814.91 



9, 746. 49 



12, 333. 90 



3, 867. 88 
14, 986. 07 



2,439.56 
226. 25 
523. 93 



20, 602. 43 



Amount 
(U. S. cur- 
rency) . 



Total. 



$120. 00 



11. 157. 66 



2, 000. 00 
2, 333. 24 



1, 169. 99 
6, 106. 90 



7, 495. 18 



1, 484. 93 



1, 770. 81 



6, 601. 59 
1, 433. 28 



112. 50 
243. 00 
210. 00 



200. 00 



$43. 20 



Grand to- 
tal. 



11, 277. 66 



11, 610. 13 
1, 280. 42 

7, 495. 18 

326. 72 

1, 484. 93 
2, 105. 16 



7,121.95 



9, 805. 68 



565. 50 
15, 422. 80 



200. 00 



$19,983.45 



24, 322. 54 



260 



REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 



Statement of the central treasury, showing total amounts disbursed on account of insular 
collections, distributed under the heads of the various departments, etc. — Continued. 



From Oct. 18, 1898, to Mar. 11, 1899. 



Total. 



Grand to- 
tal. 



From Mar. 12, 1899, to June 30, 1899. 



Amount 
(U. S. cur- 
rency) . 



Total. 



Department of finance — Cont'd. 



Highroads, public works 

Salaries in connection with 
light-houses 

Acquisitions, rent, and re- 
wards for light-houses 

Personnel of colonization 
(salaries) 

Material expenses of same . . 



Subvention to the economi- 
cal society named Amigos 
del Pais 

Board of agreement and sale 
of unclaimed property 



Subvention to a student at 
the conservatory 

To salaries and material ex- 
penses of the mechanical 
arts and works school 

To salaries and material ex- 
penses of the insular coun- 
cil of education, secretary's 
office 



Department of justice. 

To salaries of the office of the 
secretary of justice 

Office expenses, secretary of 
justice 



Salaries of the court of San 
Juan, audience 

Salaries of the court of Ponce, 
audience 

Salaries of the court of Maya- 
guez, audience 



Material expenses of the 
court of San Juan , audience . 

Material expenses of the 
courts of Ponce and Maya- 
guez, audience 

Indemnifications 



Salaries of the courts of the 
first instance 

Material expenses of the 
courts of the first instance. . 

Judicial visits and allow- 
ances to judges 

Subvention to Vieques, notary 

Rent of buildings 



Salaries of cathedral clergy.. 
Salaries of parochial clergy. . 

Worship and clergy, for ma- 
terial expenses 

Salaries of departmental pen- 
itentiary 

Allowances to prisoners at 
penitentiary 

Vaccination service 



Treasury transactions. 

Deposits: 

Judicial deposits returned 
Gubernative deposits re- 
turned 



Pesos. 



640. 90 
54.00 



5,206.03 
203. 32 



19, 205. 66 
8, 896. 76 
5,976.32 



1, 120. 45 



787. 41 
1,037.46 



202. 00 
216. 66 
640. 00 



1,453.61 



319. 53 
157, 472. 01 



Pesos. 
5, 082. 80 



4, 902. 63 
109. 90 



694. 90 



5,409.35 



34,078.74 



2, 945. 32 

10,617.89 

281. 37 

1,058.66 

1,453.61 

154.16 

10,104.55 

6, 535. 87 
186. 33 



Pesos. 



54, 914. 31 



72,825.85 



$83.32 
92.12 



630. 00 
180. 00 



126. 00 
726.49 

514. 90 



4, 699. 96 
114. 99 



16, 620. 14 
6, 272. 66 

7,458.77 



664. 52 



475. 43 
830. 10 



460. 03 

150. 00 

1,248.00 



19.79 

61.75 



157,791.54 



3,652.50 
414, 881. 78 



$175. 44 



810. 00 



1, 367. 39 



4,814.95 



30,351.57 



1,970.05 

11, 277. 84 

199. 14 

1,858.03 
81.54 



,236.05 
759. 71 



418, 534. 28 



REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 



261 



Statement of the central treasury, showing total amounts disbursed on account of insular 
collections, distributed under the heads of the various departments, etc. — Continued. 



From Oct. 18, 1898, to Mar. 11, 1899. 



Total. 



Grand to- 
tal. 



From Mar. 12, 1899, to June 30, 1899. 



Amount 
(U. S. cur- 
rency) . 



Total. 



Grand to- 
tal. 



Treasury transactions— Cont'd. 

Salaries: 

Salaries paid to civil em- 
ployees, at major-gen- 
eral's orders 

Salaries paid on account 
of expenses to be in- 
cluded in the budget . . 

Salary paid to a civil 
messenger, at major- 
general's orders 

Salary paid to inspector 
of Society for the Pre- 
vention of Cruelty to 
Animals 



Pesos. 
3, 200. 72 



415. 62 



Sureties: 

Employees' sureties re- 
turned 

Private sureties returned. 

Transfer of funds: 

Collectors' payments 

Advances to refund: 

Refunded 

Consumption imposts: 

Proceeds of consumption 
impost on liquors re- 
turned . 



51, 200. 00 
3, 800. 00 



General engagements. 

Interest and discount on 
promissory notes returned. 

Civil pensioners 

Military pensioners 

Pensions conferred by special 
grants 

War and navy half-pay offi- 
cers .. 

Emerited officers and em- 
ployees 

Dismissed officers and em- 
ployees 

Immigrants from South 
America 



1, 486. 02 
1, 856. 35 

1, 033. 07 

1, 652. 82 

176. 32 

130. 62 

6.27 



Commission and condonation. 

Commission to subcollectors 
and condonation of various 
imposts 



Returning of notes. 

State promissory notes re- 
turned 



Total 

Disbursements embraced in 
period Oct. 18, 1898, to Mar. 
11, 1899, converted into 
United States currency at 
official rate (10.60) 



Pesos. 



3, 616. 34 



Pesos. 



§140. 00 



81.00 



14, 373. 60 
600. 00 



55, 000. 00 

76, 566. 20 

1, 957. 34 



294, 931. 42 



$221. 00 

14, 973. 60 
72, 994. 94 
20, 963. 91 

50,013.52 



1577, 701. 25 



163. 00 



3, 832. 



178. 51 
158. 24 



6, 341. 47 



6, 504. 47 



11, 335. 18 



1,965.01 



441.22 



4,274.02 



7, 3S9. 40 



507, 893. 58 



728,688.30 



304, 736. 15 



Total disbursements . 



1,033,424.45 



262 



REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 



Statement of the central treasury, shoiving total amounts disbursed on account of insular 
collections, distributed under the heads of the various departments, etc. — Continued. 



SUMMARY. 



Receipts: 

Total amount of receipts from Oct. 18, 1898, to Mar. 11, 1899, 648,105.35 

pesos, converted into United States currency at official rate (10.60) . . 
Total amount of receipts from Mar. 12, 1899, to June 30, 1899, in United 

States currency 



Disbursements: 

Total amount of disbursements from Oct. 18, 1898, to Mar. 11, 1899, 
507,893.58 pesos, converted into United States currency at official 
rate ($ 0. 60) 

Total amount of disbursements from Mar. 12, 1899, to June 30, 1899, in 
United States currency , 



Balance. 



$388, 863. 21 
700, 158. 73 



304, 736. 15 
728, 688. 30 



, 089, 021. 94 



1,033,424.45 



55,597.49 



Of the balance above shown $36,036.01 is in United States currency and $19,561.48 is represented by 
debentures, bonds, and securities in the hands of the civil secretary. 

RECAPITULATION OF ALL INSULAR FUNDS RECEIVED, DISBURSED, AND REMAINING 

ON HAND JUNE 30, 1899. 



Received: 


11,238,535.93 
1,089,021.94 










$2,327,557.87 


Disbursed: 


727, 096. 40 
1,033,424.45 








1, 760, 520. 85 








567, 037. 02 




511,439.53 
55, 597. 49 














567, 037. 02 









Respectfully submitted. 



Headquarters Department of Puerto Rico, 
Inspector-General's Office, 
San Juan, P. B., October 1, 1899. 



C. H. Heyl, 
Major, Inspector- General, U. S. A. 



Appendix O. 



[Indorsement.] 

Auditing of the old accounts has been greatly delayed for a variety of causes, one 
of which was the diversion of the force to the establishment of the new auditing sys- 
tem. Another delay was due to the fact that all subordinate employees were 
inexperienced. 

There were some cases of deferred collections of customs, which, awaiting decision 
as to correctness of action of customs officers, resulted in statements of differences 
which are more technical than real. 
All these differences are being adjusted and a clean balance will soon be made. 

Geo. W. Davis, 
Brigadier- General, U. S. V. 
Headquarters Department op Puerto Rico, 

September SO, 1899. 



REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 



263 



Report of the assistant auditor, department of customs, showing the condition of the audit of 
cdl the custom-houses under the jurisdiction of the military government of Puerto Rico 
from date of American occupation to June 30, 1899. 



RECEIPTS FROM ALL SOURCES— DEBIT. 



Port of— 


From date of American occupa- 
tion to June 30, 1899. 


Import duty 
on mer- 
chandise. 


Export 
duty 
on mer- 
chandise. 


Tonnage 
dues. 


Passen- 
ger tax. 




Oct. 18, 1898, to June 30, 1899 . 

July 28, 1898, to June 30, 1899 

Aug. 13, 1898, to June 30, 1899 

Oct. 14, 1898, to June 30, 1899 
Sept. 19, 1898, to June 30, 1899. . . . 
Aug. 1, 1898, to June 30, 1899 , . 

Sept. 22, 1898, to June 30, 1899 

Oct. 1, 1898, to Feb. 1, 1899 

Sept. 22, 1898, to Feb. 15, 1899. . . 


3457, 037. 49 

424, 762. 13 

130, 462. 26 

53, 103. 80 

33, 250. 17 

18, 882. 60 

6, 488. 85 

1, 290. 63 


U, 829. 63 

13, 777. 76 

7, 344. 69 

3, 649. 48 

2, 007. 40 


$18, 932. 97 

10, 213. 87 

3, 800. 96 

1, 608. 24 

851. 52 

275.44 

428.35 

7.30 

91.10 

328. 00 

186. 96 


$845. 00 




429. 62 




71.00 








20.15 




5.00 






25.00 


Fajardo 












Feb. 1, 1899, to June 30, 1899 

Oct. 1, 1898, to June 30, 1899 

May 3, 1899, to June 30, 1899 . . . 


2, 308. 98 
1,298.90 










75.00 




















Total 


1, 128, 885. 81 


31,608.96 


36, 724. 71 


1,470.77 









Port of— 


Miscella- 
neous fines, 

night 
service, etc. 


10 per cent 
special tax. 


Consump- 
tion tax. 


Receipts 

from transfer 

of funds. 


Amount 

found 

in vault at 

date of 
American 
occupation. 


Total from all 
sources. 




$202. 51 

41.50 

38.44 

160. 00 

.83 


$735. 95 

195. 78 

9.85 

1.40 

.03 


$21, 387. 37 
12, 527. 72 


a$l,691.69 




$505, 662. 61 




$2, 618. 43 
969. 32 


464, 566. 81 






142, 696. 52 




574. 19 

139.54 

140. 33 

38.69 

15.40 




59, 097. 11 








36,269.64 








19, 303. 37 




1.39 


.93 


6 2,761.71 




1 






\ 11,149.35 




















c 285. 50 




2, 922. 48 




39.49 




6.59 




1, 606. 94 






d 350. 00 




350. 00 














Total 


484. 16 


943. 94 


34, 829. 83 


5, 088. 90 


3, 587. 75 


1,243,624.83 







a Check from Governor-General Henry for salaries. 

6 Check from Governor-General Henry for salaries and. expenses. 

c Transfer from Humacao. 

d$50 transfer from collector of Puerto Rico ; $300 transferred from treasurer of Puerto Rico. 

DISBURSEMENTS AND DEPOSITS— CREDIT. 



Port of— 


Salaries 
paid. 


Expenses 
paid. 


Miscel- 
laneous 

pay- 
ments. 


Transfer 
of funds. 


Deposits 
with bank 

and 
treasurer of 
Puerto Rico. 


Total. 


Balances 

due 
United 
States 
military 
govern- 
ment of 
Puerto 
Rico, 
June 30. 




$21, 635. 85 

13,239.11 

. 9,263.39 

3, 911. 75 

4, 576. 10 

2, 157. 98 

3, 372. 20 

843.50 

909. 84 

1,179.08 

834.58 

173. 06 


$3, 191. 39 

5, 145. 38 

864. 50 

450. 37 

414. 44 

359.09 

325.29 

19.38 

87.54 

32.14 

235. 85 

83.04 


$2, 463. 83 

6, 534. 59 

873. 36 

946. 14 

543.65 

69.98 

1 




$478, 371. 54 

420, 139. 73 

109, 532. 86 

53, 716. 92 

25, 017. 51 

11, 205. 49 

4, 682. 39 

784.55 

465. 20 

93.90 


$505, 662. 61 

462, 083. 81 

127, 534. 11 

59,025.18 

30, 551. 70 

13, 792. 54 

10, 525. 64 

1,995.77 

1,592.43 

350. 00 






a«17,025.00 
a 7, 000. 00 


$2, 483. 00 

15, 162. 41 

71.93 










5, 717. 94 






5, 510. 83 




6285.50 




623.71 




J 






926. 71 




56.80 




14.51 
















Total 


62,096.44 


11, 208. 41 


11,488.35 


24, 310. 50 


1,104,010.09 


1,213,113.79 


30,511.04 





a To United States Army. 



6 Transferred to Fajardo for salary and expense. 



264 



REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 



Report of the assistant auditor, department of customs, etc. — Continued. 
AUDITOR'S DIFFERENCES. 



Port of— 


Addi- 
tional 
found 
due per 
audit. 


Amount 
of differ- 
ences 
col- 
lected. 


Amount 
of differ- 
ences 
ex- 
plained. 


Amount 
in proc- 
ess of 
adjust- 
ment. 


Remarks and explanations. 




$7, 854. 68 
6,497.28 

2,315.66 
71.93 

62.90 

86.91 
85.16 


$1,092.31 
946.98 


$774.47 


$5, 987. 90 
5, 550. 30 

2,315.66 


Accounts of S. Brau, collector to Dec. 
31, 1898, fully settled and balanced. 
Accounts of Capt. J. A. Buchanan, 
collector from Jan. 1 to June 30, 
1899, fully examined, and complete 
settlement will be made when col- 
lection or explanation of auditor's 
differences, amounting to .$5,987.90, 
now in process of collection and 
adjustment, has been made. 








July 28, 1898, to Mar. 14, 1899, fully 
examined; auditor's differences, 
amounting to $5,406.92 (uncollected 
import and tonnage dues) , of which 
amount $946.98 was collected and 
deposited by collector for Puerto 
Rico, when collection of balance 
was suspended by Governor-Gen- 
eral Henry, and has not been re- 
sumed pending appeal. The $946.98 
is not shown in this account in 
either receipts or deposits pending 
final settlement. The $1,030.36 au- 
ditor's differences from Apr. 1, to 
June 30, 1899, will be settled when 
accounts and vouchers for March 
are received and audited. 

Complete audit made and will be re- 
ported Nov. 1, 1899. 

Complete audit. The balance due 
June 30,1899 (auditor's difference), 
has been fully accounted for. 

Complete audit. Auditor's differ- 
ences fullv settled. 
Do. 




68.78 

62.90 

86.91 
76.40 


3.15 














8.76 




Do. 






























Complete audit. 

Complete audit. Auditor's differ- 
ences fully settled. 

Complete audit. No customs reve- 
nues collected. 




14.51 


13.67 


.84 


















Total 


16, 989. 03 


2, 347. 95 


787. 22 


13, 853. 86 









Note. — Special port charges collected by the collector of customs at San Juan, amounting to $4,175.44, 
was paid over to the treasurer of the board of harbor works. Special port charges collected by the 
collector of customs at Mayaguez amounted to $1,168.51. Of this amount $56.50 was paid out for light- 
ing the dock at Mayaguez. The balance amounting to $1,112.01 is reported to be now in the vault of 
the collector of customs at Mayaguez. These port charges were not reported in the accounts of cus- 
toms receipts. 

Consumption tax collected by the collector of customs at Mayaguez, amounting $1,651.60, was fully 
paid over and accounted to the secretary of finance. This consumption tax was not reported in the 
account of customs receipts. 

The receipts from transfer of funds ($5,088.90) deducted from total leaves the actual amount of 
receipts from customs $1,238,535.93. 



Respectfully submitted. 



Office of the Assistant Auditor, 
Department of Customs, 

San Juan, P. B., October 25, 



W. W. Barre, 

Assistant Auditor, Department of Customs. 



REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 265 

Appendix P. 

Headquarters Department of Puerto Rico, 
Office of the Collector for Puerto Rico, 

San Juan, September 15, 1899. 

Adjutant-General, Department of Puerto Rico, 

San Juan, Puerto Rico. 

Sir: I have the honor to submit the following report of operations of the customs 
department since American occupation of the island of Puerto Rico. 

The first landing of United States troops was effected at Guanica on July 25, 1898, 
but there was no custom-house there at that time. Immediately upon the occupa- 
tion of the ports where there were custom-houses they were at once taken possession 
of and officers of the Army were, in most cases, placed in charge as collectors of 
■customs. The dates of American occupation of these custom-houses were as follows 
Ponce, July 28, 1898; Mayaguez, August 13, 1898; Humacao, September 22, 1898 
Fajardo, September 30, 1898; Arecibo, October 11, 1898; Arroyo, August 1, 1898 
Aguadilla, September 19, 1898; Naguabo, September 22, 1898; Vieques, October 1, 
1898; San Juan, October 18, 1898. 

The custom-house at Naguabo was discontinued February 10, 1899, and one was 
•opened at Guanica May 4, 1899. 

Until the receipt of the President's order of August 19, 1898, customs duties con- 
tinued to be assessed under the Spanish tariff, and the tariff prescribed by the 
President was, with some modifications, the same as that enforced by Spanish law, 
collections being continued in the provincial currency which, by order of General 
Miles, was received at half the value of American currency, but the accounts were 
kept in provincial currency until February 1, 1899, when, under proclamation of the 
President of January 20, 1899, the value of Puerto Rican currency was fixed at 60 
per cent of the American currency, and a new tariff was adopted, the accounts of 
which were thenceforward kept in American currency. This new schedule of duties 
dispensed with export duties. It was the result of several months' experience and, 
with occasional modifications since adoption, the rates established seem to answer 
the purpose of securing about the same amount of customs revenue as that collected 
under Spanish regime. 

Many changes have, however, taken place in the force employed in collecting the 
customs revenues, and that service is now performed with a force less in numbers 
and cost than under Spanish control. The collections and disbursements that were 
made up to February 1, 1899, included some taxes and expenditures that have been 
transferred to other departments, and they are not included in the tabular statement 
inclosed herewith. 

By the President's order of December 9, 1898, published in tariff circular No. 29, 
War Department, December 13, 1898, the island of Puerto Rico and all islands in the 
West Indies east of the seventy -fourth degree of west longitude were constituted a 
collection district, and Capt. J. A. Buchanan, U. S. A., was, on December 22, 1898,_ 
appointed collector of the district, as well as of the port of San Juan, the duties of 
which he assumed early in January, 1899. 

Until April 17, 1899, all collections, after paying the necessary expenses, were 
deposited with De Ford & Co. to the credit of the department commander, but from 
that date, under authority of a communication from the Acting Secretary of War, 
dated March 28, 1899, all deposits were made to the credit of the collector of Puerto 
Rico. 

Under authority of the President's proclamation of May 8, 1899, Maj. J. A. 
Buchanan, U. S. A., was, on May 9, 1899, appointed treasurer of the island of Puerto 
Rico and all islands in the West Indies east of the seventy-fourth degree of west 
longitude evacuated by Spain, and thereafter these funds were deposited to the credit 
of said treasurer. Major Buchanan remained on these duties until July 1', 1899, when 
the undersigned, under authority of Special Orders, No. 129, current series, headquar- 
ters Department of Puerto Rico, entered upon the duties of collector of customs for 
the port of San Juan and island of Puerto Rico. The various stages through which 
the present condition of customs affairs has been reached is not fully known to me, 
but as established by General Orders, No. 87, current series, headquarters Depart- 
ment of Puerto Rico, the customs department is now organized on good business 
principles and its affairs are gradually assuming the systematic form in which they 
should be conducted. It could only be expected that, in the transition state through 
which these affairs have passed, some confusion would have occurred, rendering it 
difficult to keep the systematic accounts that may be found in the custom-houses of 
the United States, but with the retention of most of the principal assistants found in 



266 EEPOErT OF BRIGADIEE-GENEEAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 

the offices, the work has been fairly accomplished, yet in a few cases the loss of 
records, caused by the hurricane and floods of the 8th ultimo, has removed beyond 
recovery some of the sources of information for a full and accurate compilation of 
statistics, excepting as they may be obtained through the auditor's office, whence, in a 
great measure, the financial statement of receipts and expenditures herewith inclosed 
has been procured. 

The very complete reports of exports and imports required by the Secretary of War 
from the collectors at the various ports in Puerto Rico, commencing with dates of 
American occupation, are now being carefully compiled as rapidly as facilities will 
permit. They are completed at some of the smaller ports, and it is expected that they 
will be finished at all ports by the 1st of November next. These will furnish very 
complete information as to exports and imports with the duties collected thereon and 
the countries with which the traffic was conducted. Meantime the inclosed tables, 
showing as follows, will doubtless furnish all the information required with this report: 

First. Report of vessels entered and cleared, with customs receipt and expenditures 
from February 1, 1899, to August 31, 1899, being a consolidation of monthly reports for 
that period. 

Second. A financial statement of general receipts, showing sources and amounts of 
revenue and expenditures from date of American occupation to July 31, 1899* 

Third. A statement of value of exports and imports of the principal ports of Puerto 
Rico for the months of April, May, June, July, and August, 1899. 

The report named first commences February 1, 1899, that being the date when such 
reports were first required. The second report covers two periods, one being from 
date of American occupation at each port to January 31, 1899, the account being in 
provincial currency and the other being from February 1, 1899, w r hen the present 
tariff took effect, to July 31, 1899, stated in American currency. The third is com- 
piled for only the five months (April to August, 1899, inclusive) , for which the neces- 
sary data has as yet reached this office. 

The following is a list of the present collectors of customs at ports in this collection 
district, but by recent orders the ports of Guanica, Vieques, and Fajardo are to be 
discontinued as of this date: Maj. Charles L. Davis, Eleventh Infantry, collector of 
Puerto Rico and at port of San Juan; Maj. F. W. Mansfield, Eleventh Infantry, col- 
lector at Ponce and Guanica; Capt. F. W. Foster, Fifth Cavalry, collector at Arroyo; 
Capt, P. M. B. Travis, Eleventh Infantry, collector at Mayaguez; Capt. A. C. 
Macomb, Fifth Cavalry, collector at Arecibo ; Capt. C. E. Dentler, Eleventh Infantry, 
collector at Humacao; First Lieut. S. G. Chiles, Eleventh Infantry, collector at 
Aguadilla; Second Lieut. W. Hocker, Eleventh Infantry, collector at Vieques; 
Eduardo Alonso, deputy collector at Fajardo. 

The army officers who have been detailed on customs duties have taken to this 
new class of service with a zeal and efficiency peculiar to the Government's mili- 
tary servants, who seem to readily and cheerfully adapt themselves to any situation 
in which they may be placed, and they have found in their native assistants a cheer- 
ful, willing, and zealous compliance with the changed conditions that have come to 
them. 

Very respectfully, Chas. L. Davis, 

Major, Eleventh U. S. Infantry, Collector of Customs for Puerto Rico. 



EEPOET OF BEIGADIEE-GElSrEEAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 



267 



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REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL' GEO. W. DAVIS. 



269 



Report of vessels entered and cleared, with customs receipts and expenditures, at all ports in 
Puerto Rico from February 1, 1899, to August 31, 1899. 

NUMBER OF VESSELS ENTERED AND CLEARED, WITH THEIR TONNAGE. 





In coastwise trade. 


In foreign trade. 


In foreign trade 




Number. 


Total tonnage. 


Number. 


Total tonnage. 


paying 
tonnage tax. 


Port. 


d 

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Num- 
ber. 


Total 
tonnage. 


San Juan 


222 
259 
246 

88 
149 
118 
270 
299 
477 

11 


52 
230 
242 

85 
144 
116 
268 
275 
469 

12 


21,669 
26, 790 
22, 794 
11,415 
16, 266 

9,375 
11,694 
12, 136 

9,660 
97 


25, 523 
25, 307 
22, 637 
11, 231 
16,022 

9,377 
11,509 
11,468 

9,459 
99 


240 

224 

111 

34 

41 

38 

67 

37 

65 

2 


231 

220 

112 

25 

41 

39 

67 

34 

58 

2 


373, 556 

247, 787 

132, 665 

49, 754 

62, 870 

31,574 

33, 118 

17, 312 

10, 030 

2,507 


345, 037 

223, 916 

130, 739 

38, 891 

63, 310 

31,647 

33, 108 

17, 281 

12, 386 

2,507 


144 

84 
30 
15 
7 
8 
37 
25 
51 


246, 822 
69, 607 


Mayaguez 

Arecibo 

Aguadilla 


31, 214 

2,423 

14, 455 

118,432 


Humacao 

Fajardo 

Vieques 


217, 420 
11, 717 

85, 455 








Total , , 


2,139 


1,893 


141,896 


142, 632 


859 


829 


961, 173 


898, 822 


401 


797,545 



RECEIPTS FROM CUSTOMS. 



Port. 


Tonnage 
tax col- 
lected on 
vessels in 
foreign 
trade. ■ 


Capita- 
tion tax 
collected 
on immi- 
grants. 


All other 
import 

duties col- 
lected. 


Export 

duties 

collected. 


Receipts 

from 
fines, seiz- 
ures, con- 
fisca- 
tions, etc. 


Receipts 

from 
all other 
customs 
sources. 


Receipts 
from all 

other 
sources. 


Total of 
all re- 
ceipts for 
7 months. 




$21, 648. 30 

8, 490. 34 

2, 324. 40 

1, 212. 24 

254. 80 

236. 86 

544.60 

400. 20 

168. 15 


$1, 105 

428 

58 

2 

15 

5 

26 

3 

82 


$410, 454. 12 

267, 441. 85 

90, 719. 38 

42, 986. 31 

22, 539. 54 

12, 888. 28 

9, 295. 71 

2, 308. 98 

1,115.79 




$960. 70 
20.00 
20.17 
150. 00 


$177. 03 


$73. 00 

413. 50 

35.00 

62.50 


$434, 418. 15 




$453. 70 


277, 247. 39 


Mayaguez 




93, 156. 95 




78.80 
249. 53 
86.91 


44, 491. 85 


Aguadilla 




23, 058. 87 






10.00 
20.00 


13, 227. 05 






10.00 


9, 896. 31 








2, 712. 18 






24.49 


32.50 




1,422.93 




























Total 


35,279.89 


1,724 


859, 749. 96 


453. 70 


1, 185. 36 


624. 77 


614. 00 


899, 631. 68 



EXPENDITURES FROM CUSTOMS RECEIPTS. 



Port. 


Duties, 
fines, etc., 
of all kinds 
refunded 
during 7 
months. 


Salaries of 

all customs 

employees 

for 7 

months. 


Rents, sup- 
plies, etc., 
and all 
other ex- 
penses for 
customs 
during 1 7 
months. 


Expendi- 
tures for 
all other 
purposes 
authorized 
during 7 
months. 


Total of 
expendi- 
tures dur- 
ing? 
months. 


Excess of 
receipts 
over ex- 
penditures 
during 7 
months. 


Amount of 
customs 
duty on 
goods in 

bond for 7 
months. 


San Juan 


$186. 86 
710. 95 
548. 21 
368. 43 
47.52 


$22, 110. 81 

10, 948. 22 

7, 809. 67 

3, 526. 74 

5, 042. 08 

1,751.38 

2, 343. 66 

1, 537. 38 

373. 33 

469. 06 


$1, 844. 53 
2, 734. 46 
302. 40 
349. 92 
362. 21 
188. 08 
159. 87 

46.02 
127. 87 

78.99 


$1, 805. 68 
4,458.83 
399. 76 
448. 69 
.83 
158.44 
259. 75 
20.00 


$25, 947. 88 

18,852.46 

9, 060. 04 

4, 693. 78 

5, 452. 64 

2, 097. 90 

2, 763. 28 

1, 603. 40 

736. 25 

548.05 


$408, 470. 27 

258, 394. 93 

84, 096. 91 

39, 798. 07 

17, 606. 23 

11, 129. 15 

7, 133. 03 

1, 108. 78 

686. 68 

548. 05 


$219. 28 


Mayaguez 






Aguadilla 




















235. 05 


















Total 


2, 097. 02 


55,912.33 


6, 194. 35 


7, 551. 98 


71,755.68 


827, 876. 00 


219. 28 



270 



REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 



Statement of exports and imports of the principal 2)orts in Puerto Rico for April, May, 
June, July, and Augtist, 1899, by countries. 



Country. 


San Juan. 


Ponce. 


Mayaguez. 


Exports. 


Imports. 


Exports. 


Imports. 


Exports. 


Imports. 




1512,015 

326, 248 

1,774 

22, 971 

257,031 

2,000 

80 

834 


$732, 367 

591,197 

466, 319 

161,127 

65, 126 

1,672 

9,669 

2, 503 

1,569 

3,489 

7,153 

> 4,383 

336 


$661, 775 
195, 996 


$504, 851 

194, 316 

144, 676 

133, 991 

56, 307 

291 

6,119 


$162, 670 
15, 511 
16, 767 
50,062 
77,676 


$209,104 

100, 939 

72, 098 

109, 947 

9,456 




England 




127, 680 
431,389 


France 

Belgium 


Holland 


10, 020 

4,698 

5,571 

165, 089 

315, 960 

2,676 

4,094 

90 

98, 957 

1,076 


2,049 




Venezuela 


2,468 


Austria 


1,130 


62, 733 

37, 326 

38, 790 

3,162 


Cuba 


378,923 




Italy 


18,843 

7,345 

103 




Denmark 


42 

925 

4,770 




St. Thomas 




Santo Domingo 


44 


100 


Canada 


37, 353 


154, 322 




Sweden 








Bermuda 


3,234 


4,811 
4,469 
5,044 

200 
40 

860 








Mexico 










Netherlands 












Trinidad 












Guadalupe 












Colombia 
























Total 


1,510,847 


2, 099, 687 


2, 025, 071 


1,222,294 


466, 790 


504, 112 





Country. 


Arecibo. 


Aguadilla. 


Total. 


Exports. 


Imports. 


Exports. 


Imports. 


Exports. 


Imports. 




$149, 316 


$57, 811 

23, 725 

39, 004 

52, 491 

1,728 


$33, 988 


$29, 251 


$1, 519, 764 

537,755 

18, 541 

220, 799 

1,010,924 

2,000 

12, 149 

5,532 

68,304 

598, 604 

356, 891 

5,880 

5,019 

4,904 

98, 957 

1,076 

3,234 


$1,533,384 
910, 177 
739, 006 
497,871 
132, 617 
1,963 
17 739 




England 






16, 909 
40, 315 




9,452 
193,525 


10, 634 
51, 303 


France 


Belgium 




Holland 




1,951 






Venezuela 








4,971 

2,699 

3,489 

25, 996 

11, 728 

439 


Austria 












10, 663 




6,603 
2,141 




Italy 






Denmark 








St. Thomas 










Santo Domingo 










100 






19, 910 






211,585 


Sweden 


















4,811 
4 469 


Mexico 










Netherlands 












5,044 
200 


Trinidad 












Guadalupe 












40 


Colombia 












860 
















Total 


362, 956 


196, 620 


104, 669 


86,475 


4, 470, 333 


4 109 188 







Respectfully submitted. 



Chas. L. Davis, 
Major Eleventh U. S. Infantry, Collector of Customs for Puerto Rico. 



EEPOET OF BEIGADIEE-GENEEAL GEO. W. DAYIS. 



271 



Statement of exports and imports of the principal ports in Puerto Rico, 1899. 



Countries— 1899. 


San Juan. 


Ponce. 


Mayaguez. 


Exports. 


Imports. 


Exports. 


Imports. 


Exports. 


Imports. 


United States: 

May 


Dollars. 
153,485 
160, 063 
32, 697 

88, 627 
96, 632 
41,154 

624 


Dollars. 
166, 521 
179, 692 
137, 276 

124, 395 
116,110 
148, 479 

91, 273 

86, 776 
77,083 

25,426 
32, 402 
28, 332 

15, 363 
12, 118 
12,123 

683 

958 

31 

2,212 
1,739 
1,522 

985 
1,038 


Dollars. 
212,290 
88, 305 
38, 021 

77,984 
37, 519 
42,248 


Dollars. 
97, 787 
108, 691 
100,048 

41, 176 
37, 623 
21,419 

25, 067 
19,172 
36, 736 

14,857 
35, 144 
25, 765 

13,465 
5,504 
6,714 


Dollars. 
31,426 
808 
167 

5,351 
1, 033 
6,585 

1,213 
5,131 


Dollars. 
36,744 




40, 930 
39, 593 

22, 790 


July 


Spain: 

May 




19 617 


July 


32 894 


England: 

May 


7 796 






22, 389 


July 






17, 110 


Germany: 


6,313 

3,221 
2,695 

144, 499 
3,821 
8,668 


60, 943 

9,082 

10, 505 

106, 123 

72, 179 
74, 897 


8,950 

13, 795 

5,536 

21, 110 
10, 100 
15, 621 


12, 737 
36 371 




Julv 


19 530 


France: 


1 357 




9 263 


July 




Belgium: 

May 










291 






July 


2,000 








Holland: 

May 




492 


508 




June 


80 


5,734 




July 


2,475 






Venezuela: 

May 








1,122 


June 












Julv 


676 


4,398 






1,346 


Austria: 

May 






10, 322 
24, 830 




June 




1,569 








July 






208 




Cuba: 


219, 113 
44,215 
48,086 


1,413 

1,242 

186 

3,261 

553 

1,406 

1,164 

1,056 
82 

45 
105 


36, 293 
27, 510 
54, 216 

132, 627 

108, 976 

51,547 

2,676 


1,757 
13, 949 
14, 280 

1,762 

20, 065 
3,293 




June 






July 






Italy: 


602 
15, 235 
1,307 

474 










Julv 






Denmark: 

May 






June 








July. 






4,710 
103 


1,038 




St. Thomas: 

May 


350 
200 


499 

1,881 

466 

90 




June 






July 








Santo Domingo: 








44 




June 


4,061 






100 


Julv 












Nova Scotia: 




4,204 


12, 568 
17, 700 
28,535 


45, 156 

463 

61, 775 






June 








Julv 




5,361 






Prince Edward Island: 

May 






















July 






3,652 
1,076 








Sweden: 

May 












June 












Julv 














Bermuda: 

May 


3,234 












June 












July 


























Total 


1,064,514 


1, 284, 184 




218, 674 


316, 295 









272 



REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 



Statement of exports and imports of the principal ports in Puerto Rico, 1899 — Continued. 



Countries— 1899. 


Arecibo. 


Aguadilla. 


Total. 


Exports. 


Imports. 


Exports. 


Imports. 


Exports. 


Imports. 


United States: 


Dollars. 
45, 822 
47,895 
26, 704 


Dollars. 
14, 709 
12, 514 
17,428 


Dollars. 

13, 699 

20, 289 


Dollars. 
3,250 
12, 364 


Dollars. 

456, 722 

317, 360 

97, 589 

171, 962 
135, 184 
89, 987 

1,837 
5,131 


Dollars. 
319, 011 




354, 191 




300, 345 


Spain: 






188, 361 






13, 873 
9,112 

5,712 
9,403 
4,727 

9,836 
13, 672 
1,959 






187,223 


July 








211,904 
134, 820 


England: 






4,972 
3,318 
3,369 

5,302 

10,275 

6,772 








141,058 


July 






139, 025 


Germany: 






76, 206 
26,098 
33, 098 

359, 485 
114, 696 
111, 431 


68, 158 








127, 864 




7,544 

68, 907 
22, 454 
12, 245 


6,818 

18, 846 
6, 142 


82,357 


France: 


30, 185 








19, 885 




554 




20, 997 


Belgium: 






683 














1,249 


July 










2,000 

508- 
5,814 


31 


Holland: 




415 
235 






3,119 










1,974 


July 








3,997 


"Venezuela: 












2,107 














1,038 


July 










5,074 

10, 322 
24, 830 


1,346 


Austria: 






















1,569 


July 










208 


Cuba: 










257,163 

92, 277 

127, 245 

134, 389 

129, 041 

56,981 

2,676 


1,413 








6,603 




1,242 


July 


10, 663 






186 


Italy: 








3,863 












15, 788 


July 






2,141 




2,713 


Denmark: 








1,638 












1,056 


July 










1,038 

849 

2,081 

466 

134 
4,061 


4,792 


St. Thomas: 










148 












105 


July 












Santo Domingo: 






















100 


July 












Nova Scotia: 




10, 889 






12, 568 
17, 700 
28, 535 


60, 249 










463 


July 




9,021 






76, 157 


Prince Edward Island: 


































3,652 
1,076 




Sweden: 






































Bermuda: 










3,234 










































Total 


242, 234 


134, 059 


74,538 


49, 622 


2, 920, 500 


2,512,618 







REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GEKERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 



273 



Statement of exports and imports of the principal ports in Puerto Rico, 1899 — Continued. 

RECAPITULATION. 



United States 

Spain 

England 

Germany 

France 

Belgium , 

Holland 

"Venezuela 

Austria 

Cuba 

Italy 

Denmark 

St. Thomas , 

Santo Domingo 

Nova Scotia 

Prince Edwards Island . 

Sweden 

Bermuda 



Aggregate. 



Export. 



$871, 671 

397, 133 

6,968 

135, 402 

585, 612 

2,000 

6,322 

5,074 

35, 152 

a 476, 685 

320, 411 

3,714 

3,396 

4,195 

58,803 

3,652 

1,076 

3,234 



2, 920, 500 



Import. 



$973, 547 

587, 488 

414,903 

278, 379 

71,067 

1,963 

9,090 

4,491 

1,777 

2,841 

22,364 

7,486 

253 

100 

136, 869 



2,512,618 



a Exports to Cuba: 

Animals $333, 000. 00 

Coffee 120,000.00 

Miscellaneous •. 23,685.00 



Total 476,685.00 

Statement of receipts from customs and expenses of the ports of San Juan, Ponce, Maya- 
guez, Arecibo, Aguadilla, Arroyo, Humacao, Fajardo, Vieques, and Guanica from 
July 1, 1899, to September 30, 1899. 

[In American currency.] 



Ports. 



Receipts. 



Expenses. 



Per cent. 



San Juan . . 

Ponce 

Mayaguez . 
Arecibo... 
Aguadilla 
Arroyo ... 
Humacao. 
Fajardo .. 
Vieques .. 
Guanica . . 



$195, 626. 51 

111,873.40 

47, 013. 38 

17,354.72 

9, 427. 79 

6, 679. 86 

5,030.75 

1, 347. 21 

35.76 



$8, 171. 32 
5, 696. 22 
3, 493. 13 
1, 502. 37 
1,915.63 

867. 18 
1, 134. 15 

505. 50 
85.12 

365. 00 



5ft 

7ft 
8ft 

13 

22i 

37A 



Total 



394, 389. 38 



23, 735. 62 



Appendix Q. 

preliminary report of the board *of charities of puerto rico. 

Headquarters Department of Puerto Rico, 
Office of the Board of Charities of Puerto Rico, 

San Juan, P. R., September 25, 1899. 
Military Governor of Puerto Rico, 

San Juan, P. R. 
General: In compliance with verbal instructions from you, I have the honor to 
submit the following preliminary report of the relief work in Puerto Rico intrusted 
to this board: 

statistics. 

Cash received to date $13, 650. 00 

Expended 907. 29 

Balance on hand 12, 742. 61 

12558 18 



274 EEPOET OF BEIGADIEE-GENEEAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 

SUPPLIES. 





Provisions. 


Lumber. 


Nails. 


Iron 
roofing. 


Received 


Tons. 
5,041 
3,061 


Pieces. 
2,566 
2,566 


Kegs. 
301 
219 


Rolls. 


Issued 








Remaining' 


1,980 




82 


59 









Indigent to date of last report 252, 750 

HISTORY. 

At 12 m. on August 7, 1899, the following message was received at the adjutant- 
general's office: 

"Hurricane signals 11 a. m. center east of Dominica." 

By that hour on the following day the island had been devastated by tempest and 
flood. Hundreds of lives had been annihilated, thousands of people rendered home- 
less, millions of property lost, and, worst of all, the fruit and food crop destroyed. 

The most'important problem that thrust itself upon you on the 8th day of August 
was not economic, but humanitarian. It was a question of saving human lives, not 
for a day or a week, but for months. 

ORGANIZATION OF THE BOARD OF CHARITIES OF PUERTO RICO. 

To meet this an instrument and immediate organization were necessary. The 
instrument which you created for the purpose was this board, over which I have the 
honor to preside, and which was organized in compliance with the following order 
(received by this board on August 9, 1899, and promulgated in paragraph 9, General 
Orders, No. 116, from these headquarters) : 

General Orders, ) Headquarters Department of Puerto Rico, 



No. 116. 



San Juan, August 12, 1899. 



IX. All matters respecting charitable institutions, including homes and asylums for 
succor of the poor, sick, or incurables who are supported by insular expenditures, 
together with matters relating to assistance for the sufferers by the recent hurricane, 
are committed to a board of charities. 

Detail for the board: Maj. John Van R. Hoff, ehief surgeon, president; Surg., 
F. W. F. Wieber, IT. S. N.; Dr. Francisco del Valle Ati'les; Capt. G. M. Wells, 
assistant surgeon, U. S. A.; Capt. F. P. Reynolds, assistant surgeon, U. S. A.; Rev. 
J. de J. Nin, Catholic priest; Rev. Henry A. Brown, chaplain, IJ. S. A. ; Harold W. 
Cowper, acting assistant surgeon, U. S. A. , secretary and disbursing officer. 

To this board will be transferred the executive 1 " and administrative control of the 
insane asylum, the orphan asylum, and the leper colony. The board will report 
direct to the military governor. The funds available for expenditure for the branches 
of the public service above indicated are those carried by the budget for the current 
year and will be disbursed and accounted for by the disbursing officer under the 
direction of the board of charities. 



LOCAL BOARDS OF CHARITY. 

On the same day the following letter was addressed to each alcalde: 



Sr. Alcalde Municipal de 



Junta de Caridad de Puerto Rico, 

San Juan, P. R., Agosto 9 de 1899. 



SeSor: El gobernador general ordena que por esa alcaldia se remitan a esta junta 
los nombres detres caballeros, caritativos, de esa municipalidad, con los cuales se con- 
stituira una junta local de caridad para entender en todos aquellos casos de necesidad 
6 miseria de mayor importancia que ocurrieren en su jurisdicci6n dando a esta junta 
el informe correspondiente. 



REPOKT OF BRIGADIER-GENEEAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 275 

Se les encargara asi mismo, en caso'de necesidad, de la distribution del material 
que fuere necesario para aliviar la miseria. 

_ Se entiende, desde luego, que solamente aquellos casos de desastres de considera- 
tion que las autoridades locales no pudieran remediar, se pondran bajo la action de 
la junta insular pero cualquier information que sobre asuntos de su competencia se le 
faciliten seran recibidos con gusto. 

Convendria asi mismo, la organization de comisiones locales, compuestas de senoras, 
para prestar su auxilio a los enfermos de su inmediata comunidad. 

Las personas a quienes se ha de confiar esta humanitaria labor, seran elegidas cui- 
dadosamente pues su unica recompensa sera el convencimiento de haber ayudado a 
nuestros projimos. 

John van E. Hofp, 
Major and Surgeon, U. S. A., Chief Surgeon, 

Presidente de la Junta de Caridad. 

A thousand dollars was sent to each post commander to meet the immediate 
demands, and food was directed to be issued from the public stores. August 12 1899 
the following estimate was submitted: 

Estimate. 

Population • 1,000,000 

Indigent 250,000 

Districts 7q 

Each ration for one week will consist of 3 pounds of rice, 3 pounds of beans 1 
pound of codfish or bacon, which will require, for 250,000 for one week 750 000 
pounds of rice, 750,000 pounds of beans, 250,000 pounds of codfish; total, 1,750'000 
pounds. This is an average of 12J tons per week to each district, to transport which 
to each district will require 10 carts, 20 men, and 40 oxen— a total for 70 districts of 
700 carts, 1,400 men, and 2,800 oxen. 

COST. 

The estimated cost for seventeen weeks, with an average weekly distribution as 
above, is: 

12,750,000 pounds of rice, at 5 cents per pound $637 500 

12,750,000 pounds of beans, at 3 cents per pound _ _ 382' 500 

4,250,000 pounds of codfish, at 8 cents per pound 340' 000 

Transportation— 700 carts, 17 weeks, at $10 per cart per week """ 119 000 

Sundries ."." 10,' 000 

Total 1,489,000 

August 13, 1899, you sent the following cablegram: . 

Secretary of War, Washington, D. C: 

Further but incomplete returns confirm previous cable reports as conservative 
Suggest appointment officer in New York to receive relief funds and supplies, cabling 
kinds and quantities shipped each boat. Colonel Hoff, Medical Department in 
charge relief work here. Should be shipped this week not less than 2,500 tons of 
food. Best to be sent, beans, rice, and cheap grade codfish. Cotton clothing and 
coarse cotton goods in piece, needles, thread, also needed. Money will be applied 
in assisting rebuild houses and huts and hire of help. I recommend goods described 
in articles 184, 188, 189, 191, 192, 193 be placed on free list. I have authorized 
employment labor rebuildmg barracks at Cayey and Aibonito, wholly destroyed. 

Davis. 

On the same date the following instructions were issued to post commanders: 

Headquarters Department of Puerto Eico, 

~ ^ San Juan, August 13, 1899. 

Commanding Officer, . 

Sir: The department commander directs that you at once organize a depot at 
your post for the receipt and distribution of supplies intended for the sufferers from 
the recent hurricane. This depot should be under your personal charge. 

You will also organize at the chief city in each of the municipalities in your division 
a subdepot, which will be under the command of a reliable noncommissioned 



276 



EEPOET OF BRIGADIER-GENEEAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 



officer, with one or more privates to assist in the distribution of food and other mate- 
rial. Strict account will be kept of receipts and issue, and the latter will be made 
in accordance with regulations which will be published in orders. 

You should at once arrange for the most satisfactory transportation obtainable within 
your division for the transportation of material from your depot to the subdepots. 
No delay should be permitted, and no failure to get the material to the needy. The 
department commander relies upon your zeal and intelligence in carrying this work 
through, and no failure which human intelligence and effort can overcome should be 
allowed to interfere with it. You are authorized to use your entire personnel if nec- 
essary in this work, as well as public transportation, etc., and you will hire such 
transportation and labor as may be necessary, observing due economy, the object 
being to get the material to the points of distribution, and for this you are wholly 
responsible. 

Issues will be facilitated by the use of measures. The soldiers' tin cup will hold 
pounds of rice, or pounds of beans. 

You will also urge the alcaldes of your division to submit the names of three repu- 
table and active citizens in each district to act as local boards of charities, and you 
will give them a provisional appointment until their nominations can be acted upon 
by the board of charities of Puerto Rico at San Juan, P. R. 

Committees of charitable women should also be organized in the municipal dis- 
tricts, and every effort made to bring speedy relief to the needy. Organization is a 
military specialty, and no unusual difficulty should be experienced in making such a 
one here that the results will be almost perfect. 
Very respectfully, 

W. P. Hall, Adjutant- General, 

REGULATIONS OF THE BOARD OF CHARITIES OF PUERTO RICO. 

August 14, the distribution of food was placed in the hands of this board, in 
compliance with the following order: 

RATION REQUEST. 



The following ration request was devised: 

Num. . 

Nombre . 

Numero de familia, . Adultos, . Ninos, 



1899. 



Residencia. 



Certifico: Que los arriba nombrados son indigentes y necesitaran comidapara- 
Adultos, ; ninos, por semanas. 



El peso de una ration semanal es de 7 libras. 



Presidente de la Junta de Caridad. 



Fecha. 



Hat>., 
kilos. 



Arroz., 
kilos. 



Kilos. 



Expedido l a semana . 

4a 



Esta tarjeta es intrasmisible y solo sirve en este distrito. Debe presentarse antes 
de ser despachada y constara en la ultima emision. Si fuere necesario se expedird 
una nueva tarjeta por el presidente de la junta de caridad. Cada emision debe 
anotarse en un libro. 



Identiflcaci6n del 
pulgar. 



REPOET OF BEIGADIEE-GENEEAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 277 

From the foregoing it will be observed that hardly an hour's delay was permitted 
in meeting an emergency which at noon on August 7 was totally unexpected, and 
which involved the feeding of an army of 250,000 indigents, with a base 1,500 miles 
over the sea. 

SCHEME OF ORGANIZATION. 

The scheme of organization is simple enough. A central depot at San Juan under 
the immediate charge of this board; 17 depots at convenient points, each under charge 
of an officer, and 58 subdepots, located in each municipal city, under charge of a non- 
commissioned officer. At each of these depots two or more private soldiers are 
stationed. 

Food from home is landed from the transports into the central depot here and dis- 
tributed by wagon or boat to the 17 depots, from which it is carried by the municipal 
authorities to their districts and distributed to the people. 

The responsibility of determining who is indigent is placed upon the local boards 
of charities, organized in accordance with the letter of August 9, above quoted. 

WEAK POINT IN THE ORGANIZATION. 

Herein lies the weak point of the organization, and an explanation of its cause would 
nvolve a discussion of the sociological conditions obtaining here, which are not per- 
tinent to this report. Suffice it to say that these people are not accustomed to organ- 
ize for any purpose, particularly charity; that a gift from the charitable people of 
our country to preserve the natives here from starvation is not regarded as a sacred 
charge to be honestly administered, but as a public contribution in which all are 
entitled to share; and, finally, a large proportion of the people are chronically indi- 
gent and always on the verge of starvation, so that it is no easy matter to discriminate 
between degrees of indigency. 

INSTRUCTIONS TO LOCAL BOARDS OF CHARITY. 

August 19 the following circular was issued to the local boards of charities, which 
indicated the lines upon which this board expected them to work: 

Board of Charities for Puerto Rico, 

San Juan, P. B., August 19, 1899. 
Municipal Boards of Charities in Puerto Bico. 

Gentlemen: Your attention is invited to General Orders, No. 117, of August 14, 
1899, from Headquarters, Department of Puerto Bico, and particularly to paragraph 
10, which requires all issues of food to be made on ration cards, certified to by the 
chairman of the local board of charities, as follows: 

I hereby certify that the above-mentioned are indigent and will require food for 
adults, children, for weeks. 



President Board of Charities. 

In executing this important work you are expected to investigate each case and 
assure yourselves that the applicant is actually in need of assistance. The object of 
your organization is to assist those who really require it, and to see that no worthy 
person goes hungry. But for the sake of the country, your utmost endeavor should 
be exerted to prevent pauperizing the people by feeding those who are able to pro- 
cure food for themselves. 

When women apply for food it will be your duty to ascertain not only if they are 
needy, but also if they belong to families in which there are present able-bodied men. 
In the latter event the men will be required to work as directed. 

Your attention is also invited to the requirements of General Orders, No. 124, 
Headquarters, Department of Puerto Rico, August 19, 1899, particularly that para- 
graph in which it is set forth that able-bodied men who are given food must render 
a return in labor. This labor may at present be most advantageously used in clean- 
ing up the towns and repairing local damages, but will also be employed upon any 
service in the interest of the public welfare. 

The board of charities for Puerto Rico relies upon your zeal and good judgment 
in carrying out these instructions. 

Very respectfully John Van R. Hoff, 

President Board of Charities, Puerto Bico. 



278 EEPOET OF BRIGADIEE-GENEEAL GEO. ~W. DAVIS. 

It was not deemed wise to lay down a too detailed scheme of organization. All the 
division inspectors (commanding officers) were experienced soldiers, and it was 
believed that it would be better to let them work out their interior organization 
within certain general lines laid down by this board. We recognized the great danger 
of pauperizing a people whose every tendency is in the direction of indolence, and the 
motto of the board of charities of Puerto Rico has been from the beginning "No one 
shall die of starvation and no able-bodied man shall eat the bread of idleness. ' ' But 
it is much easier to suggest rules than it is to accomplish results. After several weeks' 
trial the board promulgated the following plan, which is now in operation: 

Board op Charities of Puerto Rico, 

San Juan, P. R., September 2, 1899. 
To military commanders, alcaldes, boards of charities, and all interested in Puerto Rico and 

its people: 

It has been found that a more extended organization and closer inspection are 
necessary to prevent distress because of lack of food, and at the same time to avoid 
the possibility of pauperizing the laboring classes by feeding those who are unworthy. 

This board therefore makes the following recommendations: 

(1) That an investigating committee (partly of charitable women) be organized in 
each barrio, whose duty it will be to investigate all cases which may require assist- 
ance. This committee will report to the local board of charities and will furnish each 
worthy indigent family or individual, if there be no family, with an inspection card 
(A) , giving the date, name, residence, number in family, and especially the number 
of able-bodied adult males. 

This inspection card (A) will be taken to the board of charities by the beneficiary, 
and exchanged for a ration request (B) and as many work tickets (C) as there are 
able-bodied adult males in the family. The ration request will then be taken to the 
depot and the first week's rations will be drawn. 

All of the above-mentioned tickets will have the same number, which will be put on 
them at the office of the board of charities. Upon receiving his work ticket (which he 
must always carry with him) the able-bodied man will report as directed on the back 
of the ticket, and on completing his day's work will receive from the overseer a time 
check (D) , upon which is written the same number as that on the work ticket (C) . 

These time checks (D) are vouchers to the ration requests (B) , and without them or 
a certificate from the barrio committee that the man is legitimately absent or ill, no 
rations will be issued after the first week. If, however, the man be present with his 
family or the people with whom he lives, and in good health, but refuses to report and 
work as directed, he will be arrested and required to work under guard, and a certificate 
that he has so worked will be a sufficient voucher for the issue of food to his indigent 
family. 

The board realizes that no plan of relief that human ingenuity can devise will be 
perfect, but it believes that with the assistance of the people who have the best inter- 
est of the country at heart the plan here outlined will feed the worthy hungry and 
make the lazy, indigent man work for his food. 

Trusting that such assistance will be freely given, and realizing that much of what-, 
ever success we may have depends upon the good women of the island, I remain, 
Very respectfully, 

John Van R. Hofp, 
Major and Surgeon, U. S. A., President of Board. 

A. % 

Niim . 

TARJETA DE INVESTIGACT6N. 

Distrito de , barrio de . 



A la Junta de Caridad. 

Senores : , de este barrio, y cuya familia consiste de adultos y ninoSj 

de los cuales hay varones adultos, habiles para el trabajo segun investigaci6n 

hecha, resultando ser indigentes y que necesitan provisiones para semanas. 

Por el Comite del Barrio. 



EEPOET OF BEIGADIEE-GENEEAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 



279 



B. 

[Llevese esta solicited con la boleta de jornal al Deposito de provisiones.] 



Num. . 

Nombre . Eesid a — 

de los cuales son honibres habiles 



. Num. de familia — — . Adultos 



— , 1899. 
Nifios — 



Certifico: que los arriba nombrados son indigentes y necesitan provisiones para 

. Adultos . Ninos, por semana. Las provisiones se despacharan sema- 

nalmente y por medio de esta orden. 



Presidente de la Junta de Caridad. 

Despu^s de la primera racion, esta solicitud debera ir acompafiada por el corre- 
spondiente numero de boletas de jornal, una por cada dia para cada hombre habil. 
El peso de una racion semanal es de 7 libras. 



Fecha. 



Expedido, l a semana. 

2 a " . 

" 3* " . 

4a «. . 



Hab., 
libras. 



Arroz, 
libras. 



Libras. 



Esta tarjeta es intrasmisible y solo sirve en este distrito. Debe presentarse en el 
deposito de provisiones con el correspondiente niimero de boletas de jornal, antes de 
ser despachada y constara en la ultima emision. Si fuere necesario se expedira una 
nueva tarjeta por el presidente de la junta. Cada emision se anotara en un libro. 



Identiflcaci6n del 
pulgar. 



BOLETA DE TKABAJO. 



Fabrica de 



Num. 



El portador de esta boleta se presentara en la Alcaldfa manana a las siete de la 
misma para trabajar. Si esta orden no se cumple, sera arrestado. 
Por orden: 



Fecha: 



- INSTRUCCTONES. 

Las boletas de trabajo se expediran juntas con las tarjetas racion, para los varones 
indigentes, aptos para el trabajo que en ellas se expresan, debiendo corresponder el 
numero de una y otra. 
_ Los hombres se presentaran con sus boletas (que debera conservar) segun instruc- 
ciones al respaldo. Al concluir el trabajo del dia se les expedira una boleta de jor- 
nal con su numero correspondiente a cada hombre. Estas tarjetas de jornal deberan 
acompanar la boleta de racion 6 de lo contrario no se expediran raciones. 



280 REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 

D. 

Boleta de jornal num. , junta de Caridad. 



Inspector. 

INSTRUCCIONES. 

El inspector hara constar en esta tar j eta el numero del jornalero, entregandosela 
firmada a este al terminar el trabajo del dia. 

Esta tar j eta debe acompanar d la boleta de raciones, sin cuyo requisito no se pue- 
den percibir estas. 

Board of Charities for Puerto Rico, 

San Juan, P. R., September 20, 1899. 

instructions to noncommissioned officers in charge of subposts of the board 
of charities of puerto rico. 

(1) Food is issued to prevent starvation. It is intended for the worthy poor, and 
no able-bodied man shall receive any unless he gives a full day's work in return. 

(2) A day's ration consists of 1 pound of food. For convenience, food will gen- 
erally be issued weekly. Three pounds of rice, 3 pounds of beans, and 1 pound of 
codfish or bacon constitute the usual allowance for one person for one week. The 
regulation tin cup holds about 1\ pounds. 

(3) A receipt and issue book must be kept at each depot, in which will be entered 
in detail all the material received and all the rations issued. 

(4) The local board of charities will furnish the noncommissioned officer in 
charge of the subdepot with an alphabetical list of indigents, by barrios; and, as a 
rule, issues to the indigents in each barrio will be made on a specific day, in the pres- 
ence of the commissario of that barrio. 

(5) Issues will be made on a ration "request" signed by the chairman of the local 
board of charities, and the exact amount given will be noted on the "request." 
After the first week the "request" must be accompanied by six time checks, or a 
certificate from the barrio committee of absence or sickness, for each able-bodied 
man mentioned on the "request." Without these checks or certificates no rations 
will be issued. 

(6) No food will be issued on a "request" if the noncommissioned officer in 
charge has reason to believe that the applicant is unworthy, and the ' 'request' ' will 
be taken up. 

(7) Noncommissioned officers on this duty will take pains to inform themselves 
of the condition of the poor in their districts; will see that the boards of charities and 
the barrio committees perform their duty, and will at once report to their immediate 
commanders any irregularities observed. 

(8) They will observe the organization and work of the indigent laborers and refuse 
food to those who fail to work, reporting such cases to the alcaldes and their imme- 
diate commanders, who will cause the men to be arrested and put to work under 
guard. 

(9) They will, under General Orders, No. 124, Headquarters Department of Puerto 
Rico, dated August 19, 1899, at once cause the arrest of anyone who misapplies the 
supplies furnished by this board and report the fact to higher authority. 

(10) They will submit to their immediate commanders a weekly report on blanks 
furnished by this board, and will sign receipts and account for all property received 
by them. 

(11) Noncommissioned officers and privates on relief duty are officials of this 
board; they are in no sense under the control of the municipal authorities, and in 
the performance of their duties will take no orders from them. They will watch 
over the interests of the board in every way, and will carry out to the best of their 
ability its rule of action, which is that — 

' 'No person shall die of starvation, and no able-bodied man shall eat the bread of 
idleness." 
By order of the board of charties of Puerto Rico: 

John Van R. Hoff, 

President of Board. 

DIFFICULTY IN MAKING THE ABLE-BODIED WORK. 

The greatest difficulty is found in making the able-bodied men work for food, if 
they can, as they usually do, get it without work. It requires rather too fine reason- 
ing for these people, and indeed much higher orders of intellect, to appreciate the 



REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 281 

fact that they are not working for food, but life; that the food is given them to 
prevent their starving to death, and that if there is no danger of such a result the 
charity of our people is misapplied. Five cents' worth of food is a small wage for a 
day's work, but as the only means to an end — the preserving of one's life — who 
would not work for that sum? 

PUERTO RICANS HAVE NO ORGANIZING ABILITY. 

The Puerto Rican authorities have no organizing power to utilize this enormous 
working force, which if properly applied would rebuild the towns, remake the roads, 
and recultivate the fields, and our own people can hardly be expected to do this in 
addition to already arduous duties. The result is that there is an immense amount 
of idleness among the laboring classes, which threatens disaster to the island. 

Headquarters Department op Puerto Rico, 

San Juan, August 29, 1899. 
The attention of the able-bodied is called to the fact that idleness will not be 
tolerated in Puerto Rico. 

All men dependent upon the wages of labor for a livelihood must work for wages or 
for food, and if any such man refuses to labor his name will be reported to the inspector 
of his division, who will investigate the case, and if the facts are found to be as alleged 
will place his name on a blank list and will thereafter permit no food to be issued to 
him or his family until he returns to work. 

Geo. W. Davis, 
Brigadier-General, Commanding, 

AGREEMENT WITH THE PLANTERS. 

The board is now considering the question of an arrangement with the planters 
which will be mutually beneficial to all concerned, and the details of which are as 
follows: 

Board op Charities of Puerto Rico, 

San Juan, P. P., September 16, 1899. 

The following letter, addressed to the reputable planters of Puerto Rico who are 
in financial stress, is transmitted for the information of division inspectors: 

Sir: With a view to the mutual benefit of the proprietors and the peons, and to 
enable this board to so distribute its supplies that no person shall be permitted to 
die of starvation and no able-bodied man receive food without working for it, the 
following is submitted for your consideration : 

(1) The board of charities of Puerto Rico will furnish to reputable proprietors 
whose lands have been devastated and who are in financial stress enough food to 
feed a stated number of peons, now destitute, and their lawful families, the number 
of laborers on any plantation to be determined by the amount of work to be done. 
This food will continue to be supplied so long as such is at the disposal of the 
board or until sufficient time has elapsed for the production of a new crop of the 
usual food. One ration of 1 pound of food will be given the laborer for each day's 
work, and his family shall receive like rations gratuitously, but not unless the man 
works when he is able to. Under no circumstances will the donated food be regarded 
as wages to pay for labor, but simply as material to prevent starvation, and it must 
not be sold by the proprietors to anyone for any purpose or at any price. 

In return for this, the proprietors must agree to require of the able-bodied laborers 
employed under these terms a full day's work for the usual number of working 
days every week. They must also agree — 

First. To furnish such assistance as they may be able in the way of material to 
help their workmen to restore their dwellings. 

Second. They must assign to each of their laborers a small parcel of ground in 
' which to plant seed of food plants, to be supplied by them (or this board) and will 
see that such seed is properly planted and cultivated. 

Third. They will render such assistance as in their power lies to enable their 
laborers and their families to live at least as comfortably as they did before the 
hurricane. 

Fourth. For their own protection and that of their laborers and this board, they 
must agree, so far as in their power lies, to prevent the misapplication of relief sup- 
plies and their issue to any able-bodied man who fails to render an equivalent in 
work, either on their plantations or elsewhere in their neighborhood. 

Fifth. They will report to this board at the end of each month the number of peons 
employed, the number in their families, and the total amount of food received and 
issued. 



282 EEPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 

Sixth. And finally they will be required to transport the food issued to them for 
the above purpose at their own expense from the most convenient official depot of 
this board to their plantations. 

Nothing hereinbefore written will be considered as preventing proprietors from 
entering into any proper agreement with their laborers which may be to their mutual 
interests, such as future payments in money at usual rates for present work, etc. 

Should the foregoing meet your approval, and should you desire to avail yourself 
of the privilege herein set forth, you will please advise this board accordingly, giving 
the following information: 
(1) Name. 
(2^ Address. 

(3) Number of acres cultivated. 

(4) Character of crop. 

'(5) Percentage of loss from hurricane. 

(6) Number of laborers required. 

(7) Most accessible food depot. 

(8) Probable time assistance will be required. 

(9) Reference in the city of San Juan. 
Very respectfully, 

John Van R. Hoff, 
Major and Surgeon, U. S. A., President of Board. 

, 1899. 

Yo — (Propietario, administrador) de cuerdas de terreno cultivado en 

el barrio de , termino municipal de , Puerto Rico, por cuanto a lo que a 

continuation se expresa me comprometo, por medio de la presente, a lo siguiente: 

1°. A facilitar trabajo en mi finca a hombres habiles por semanas, exi- 

giendole a estos trabajen cuando menos, ocho (8) horas diarias durante los seis dias 
de cada semana. 

2°. A auxiliar a estos trabajadores en la reconstruction de sus casas y proporcio- 
narles, tanto a ellos como a sus respectivas familias, cuando menos, tanta comodidad 
como la que disfrutaban antes del huracan del dfa 8 de agosto de 1899. 

3°. A asignar a cada uno un pequefio lote de terreno, que no baje de diez mil 
(10,000) pies cuadrados, para sembrar en el las semillas de plantas frutales, cuidando 
de que dichas semillas se faciliten, siembren y cultiven debidamente. Siendo el 
producto de dicho cultivo de la propiedad del peon, a quien se ha asignado el men- 
cionado lote. 

4°. A proveer a cada persona asf empleada, con tantas libras de provisiones como 
individuos haya en sus respectivas familias, por todos y cada uno de los dfas que tra- 
baje. Los varones adultos que no estuvieren trabajando en mi finca quedan excluidos. 

5°. A hacer una cuidadosa investigation, hasta convencerme de que ninguna de las 
personas, por mf empleadas, recibe provisiones por otro conducto que el mio, y de que 
no se despachen estas a personas que de otro modo reciben medios de subsistencia. 

6°. A llevar extricta contabilidad de las provisiones recibidas y despachadas sin 
que se faciliten mas de la cantidad prefijada en el parrafo 4°. 

7°. A informar mensualmente a la Junta de Caridad del numero de personas 
empleadas por mi; del numero total que compone sus familias; de las provisiones 
recibidas y despachadas, y de cualquier malversation de las mismas que llegara a mi 
conocimiento. 

8°. A conducir las provisiones que fueren necesarias, desde a mi finca todas 

las semanas. 

En consideration de lo que antecede, la Junta de Caridades de Puerto Rico, conviene 

en facilitar a barrio de termino municipal de como le convenga 

y por el tiempo que esten a su disposition, una cantidad de provisiones, compuesta, 
proximamente, de una libra diaria para cada peon empleado por el, en los trabajos 
de su finca, e igual cantidad para cada uno de los individuos de la familia de dichas 
personas. Pero nada de lo expuesto en este contrato debera interpretarse haciendo 
a la Junta de Caridades de Puerto Rico, responsable de danos, 6 perjuicios que 
pudieran sobrevenir por cualquier falta en el envio ya sea de todas 6 parte de las 
provisiones ante mencionadas. 

Debe entenderse, ademas, que cualquier malversation de provisiones de parte del 
propietario 6 su agente sera motivo para la inmediata anulacion de este contrato, 
procesandosele de acuerdo con lo prescrito en la Orden General No. 134 Cuartel Ge- 
neral, Departamento de Puerto Rico, fecha 19 de agosto de 1899. 

Firma del Propietario 6 Administrador. 
Testigo: 



REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 283 

[Duplicado.] 

_ Instrucciones. — Este contrata deberd ser firmado y testificado por duplicado, remi- 
tiendo ambas copias a la Junta de Caridad de Puerto Rico, en San Juan. Una vez 
aprobado se devolvera al interesada una de las copias. 

MISAPPLICATION OF SUPPLIES. 

The probable misapplication of relief supplies early received consideration, and to 
meet such cases the following order was issued: 



Board of Charities of Puerto Rico, 

San Juan, P. E., September 14, 1899. 
The board of charities of Puerto Rico offers $10 reward for the arrest and convic- 
tion of anyone who violates the provisions of paragraph 2, General Orders, No. 124, 
Headquarters Department of Puerto Rico, dated August 19, 1899, which reads: 

"Any person who misapplies any material furnished for the relief of the destitute 
by fraudulently obtaining or by selling or otherwise disposing of the same will be 
punished by a fine not exceeding $500 for each offense or by imprisonment for a 
period not exceeding one year. " 

By order of the board of charities of Puerto Rico: 

John Van R. Hoff, 
Major and Surgeon U. S. A., President. 

Several reports of misapplication have been received which are being investigated. 
Many rumors of the selling of aid supplies are rife, but thus far no notice of any convic- 
tions under this order has reached this office. 

ADMINISTRATION. 

The organization of the administrative work of this board involved no difficulty; it 
followed army methods, which are being carried out by men who understand them. 
We hear much about "red tape," a contemptuous definition of a system grown out of 
a thousand years' experience, but which not being understood by the tyro in our trade, 
is derided as cumbersome and useless. Weekly reports are submitted by each divi- 
sion inspector, giving all the details necessary to enable this board to keep his divi- 
sion supplied and to form some idea of future requirements. A strict accountability 
for all property is demanded for which invoices, receipts, and returns are made. 

TRANSPORTATION. 

The question of transportation is of vital importance, and is rendered more difficult 
by the destruction of roads and railways. Upon the recommendation of this board 
the tug Borenquen was chartered by the quartermaster's department, to work in con- 
nection with the Slocum, and the following letter was sent: 

Board of Charities of Puerto Rico, 

San Juan, P. R., August S3, 1899. 
Adjutant-General, Department of Puerto Rico: 

Sir:" The hurricane has so seriously interfered with communication by usual routes 
of travel that in distributing relief material this board finds it necessary to recom- 
mend that additional wheel and water transportation be provided for its work. 
There should be two wagon trains organized, of thirty wagons each, and pack trains 
at Arecibo, Manati, Mayaguez, and Adjuntas, if such are not now there. There should 
also be two schooners chartered, one for use at San Juan and the other on the eastern 
coast. The former can presently be dispensed with, but the latter will probably have 
to be continued m service for some time. The board respectfully recommends that 
senders of cablegrams be requested to specify the amount of each kind of material 
sent, so that orders for its distribution can be made before the arrival of the ship, and 
the material loaded directly from her into the distributing boats. 
Very respectfully, 

John Van R. Hoff, 
Major and Surgeon, U. S. A., President of Board. 



284 EEPOET OF BRIGADIEE-GENEEAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 



TRANSPORTATION WITHIN THE DIVISION. 



The United States Government delivers the food at the depots, and within the 
divisions the local authorities are required to provide their own transportation, so 
far as they are able to do so, the distance to be covered at no place exceeding 20 
miles. Occasional reports reach this office of a disinclination on the part of the local 
authorities to do this work, but it certainly is very little to ask of them. 



THE U. S. S. PANTHER. 

The U. S. S. Panther arrived with relief supplies from Philadelphia on the 28th 
ultimo, and went around the island, from port to port, distributing her supplies in 
accordance with the schedule of this board, and taking receipts for her issues. By 
this plan we were enabled to stock all our depots with the least practicable delay, and 
at the same time avoid repeated handling of cargo. In all other cases the distribu- 
tion has been made from the central depot of the board here. 

CHARACTER OF SUPPLIES. 

The board has asked for the simplest, most acceptable, and least ration with which 
to carry on its work, viz, beans, rice, and codfish or bacon — one pound of food per 
day for each individual. Generally this has been furnished, but unfortunately much 
flour, canned and other foods, together with various things necessary to our good 
people at home, have been sent, of which very little use can be made. When prac- 
ticable, arrangements have been entered into with local bakers to make bread from 
the flour, but the people themselves can not do it, and I fear that much of the flour 
sent has been wasted or misapplied. I am endeavoring to exchange that in stock 
now for rice and beans. 

MEDICINES. 

Besides food, clothing and medicine come under the purview of this board. To 
meet immediate contingencies the following circular letter was sent to the surgeons 
of the various posts: 

Headquarters Department of Puerto Rico, 

San Juan, P. P. , August 28, 1899. 
Surgeon . 

Sir: Such remedies as may be supplied for the treatment of the indigent Puerto 
Ricans will be issued to you, and from these requisitions made by the inspector of the 
division in which you are located or from neighboring divisions in which there is no 
military hospital will be filled. Until these supplies arrive you are authorized to 
furnish such simple remedies from your hospital as can be spared without immediate 
detriment to the service, resupplying yourself, when necessary, by special requisition, 
and ultimately replacing the issue from the relief medicines furnished you as above 
set forth. You will keep an accurate account of all material received and issues 
made, giving and taking receipts for the same, in duplicate, on the regular form, and 
rendering a return to the board of charities of Puerto Rico upon the completion of 
the relief work. 

Very respectfully, John Van R. Hoff, 

Major and Surgeon, U. S. A., Chief Surgeon. 

A considerable amount of quinine, arsenic, and calomel have been received in the 
aid supplies and distributed, and these have been supplemented from the military 
hospitals. A large requisition for medicines and dressings was some time since for- 
warded. Two physicians were employed by the board. 

WOMAN'S AID SOCIETY OF SAN JUAN. 

A supply of clothing, new and old, was sent from home, and the Woman's Aid 
Society of San Juan gives nearly a thousand dresses every week to clothe the indi- 
gent. Too much appreciation can not be shown this association of ladies for the earnest 
and admirable work they are doing for the poor everywhere in Puerto Rico. 



REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 285 

PLANTING. 

Realizing that the aid from home must be limited to the shortest practicable time, 
this board has insisted upon the necessity for immediate planting of food-producing 
seeds. Your own order and the circulars of this board are as follows: 

General Orders, \ Headquarters Department of Puerto Rico, 

No. 126. J San Juan, August 22, 1899. 

The attention of alcaldes and others concerned is called to the fact that the people 
in the country districts and in the open parts of towns should be required to at once 
plant corn, potatoes, beans, and such other vegetables of rapid growth as will, at the 
earliest possible moment, resupply the country with .the requisite food. No excuse 
should be accepted for failure to comply v ith this order, the requirements of which 
will receive the personal attention of the alcaldes as well as that of the comisarios de 
barrios. 

By command of Brigadier-General Davis: 

W. P. Hall, Adjutant-General. 



Board op Charities of Puerto Rico, 

San Juan, P. R. , August 24, 1899. 
Sir: I have the honor to request that you will instruct your subpost commanders 
and alcaldes and boards of charities in your division to see that all vegetables issued 
in your division which are suitable for this purpose be used as seed and at once 
planted. The importance of this is emphasized when it is realized that only through 
a hew crop can this people become self-supporting in the near future, and there can 
be no crop without planting. 

Very respectfully, John Van R. Hoff, 

/ Major and Surgeon, U. S. A., President of Board. 



Commanding Officer, 



Board of Charities of Puerto Rico, 

San Juan, P. P., September 6, 1899, 



Sir: I have the honor to invite especial attention to the recommendation recently 
sent you in regard to the necessity for immediate replanting for a new crop. Should 
you find any scarcity of seed — such as native rice, beans, corn, etc. — in the hands of 
the people for this purpose, you are authorized to purchase them in small quantities 
from the local dealers, for seeding, taking care that they are used for no other pur- 
pose. The beans from the United States will not germinate, and are useless as seed. 
Bills for material purchased for seeding will be sent to this board in duplicate, with 
vouchers receipted. 

Very respectfully, - John Van R. Hoff, 

Major and Surgeon, U. S. A., President of Board. 

Some planting is being done, but not so much as desirable, and it is not likely in 
any event that the issue of food can be wholly stopped before the end of this year. 

No one who has not had such work as has fallen to us here to do among such a 
people can form any idea of its difficulties. 

There is not a single point in common between ourselves and the Puerto Ricans. 
Language, customs, moral and business standards all differ so radically that it is quite 
as impossible for us to understand them as they us. Consequently what we do for 
these people is done not from sympathy but largely from a sense of duty, and is 
received by them not as the outpouring of a charitable nation but as a right for 
which no equivalent should be expected. 

We have accepted these people as our share of the burden that the strong must 
bear for the weak. We will keep them alive; we will lead them slowly, gently 
toward the light, and finally, in half a hundred years, they will catch the first glim- 
mering ray which will show them what our standards are and what we wish theirs 
to be. 

Respectfully submitted. 

John Van R. Hoff, 
Major and Surgeon, U. S. A., President of Board. 



286 REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 

Appendix R. 

Statement showing amount of mortgages on country and city property in Puerto Rico from 

1880 to 1898. 





Without interest. 


1 to 6 per cent interest. 


6 to 12 per cent interest. 




No. of 
loans. 


Amount loaned. 


No. of 
loans. 


Amount loaned. 


No. of 
loans. 


Amount loaned. 


COUNTRY PROPERTY. 




Pesos. 

520, 244. 66 

1,685,273.20 

1,440,172.76 

3, 190, 679. 76 

1,441,773.77 

1,040,599.35 

192, 144. 73 

361,676.57 

295, 192; 12 


3 
2 
31 
18 
48 
5 
12 
11 


Pesos. 

443,357.15 

4, 298. 43 

16, 778. 00 

308, 716. 60 

87,320.30 

332, 679. 21 

9, 846. 91 

92,721.63 

30, 649. 04 


363 
11 

236 
80 

173 

206 
68 
36 


Pesos. 
1,081,000.97 




423 
370 
595 
279 
289 
67 
79 
123 


2, 602, 597. 06 




53, 635. 06 




1, 344, 770. 00 




778, 980. 48 




1,825,579.09 




1,036,126.08 




897, 536. 24 




204, 574. 06 






Total 




10, 167, 756. 66 




1,326,367.27 




9, 824, 799. 84 








CITY PROPERTY. 




93,480.73 

79, 851. 01 

106. 118. 22 

476,326.27 

67, 515. 15 

119, 688. 42 

9,029.11 

77, 193. 46 

6, 775. 49 


7 


388,504.22 
27, 136. 32 


49 

5 

100 

5 

107 

35 

24 

4 


1,091,451.64 




36 
46 
356 
28 
63 
11 
31 
11 


123, 058. 70 




16, 303. 77 




8 
1 

13 
5 
4 
1 


9, 184. 00 

4, 525. 59 

138,065.95 

13, 000. 00 

3, 405. 00 

550.00 


153,164.45 




11, 543. 00 




480, 808. 39 




47,197.00 




68, 785. 96 




5, 475. 00 






Total 




1,035,977.86 




584,371.08 




1,997,787.91 










11,203,734.52 




1, 910, 738. 35 




11, 822, 587. 75 











12 to 18 per cent 
interest. 


18 to 24 per cent 
interest. 


Over 24 per cent 
interest. 


Total. 




No. of 
loans. 


Amount 
loaned. 


No. of 
loans. 


Amount 
loaned. 


No. of 
loans. 


Amount 
loaned. 


No. of 
loans. 


Amount 
loaned. 


COUNTRY PROPERTY. 




Pesos. 
838, 080. 46 
880, 110. 49 
268, 563. 93 
241,660.80 

39, 654. 05 
1, 245, 630. 70 

14, 777. 00 
278, 775. 08 

96, 290. 49 


66 
33 

5 

2 
23 

1 
26 

7 


Pesos. 
345, 518. 65 
105, 694. 98 
125,422.48 

8, 610. 00 

1, 265. 90 
65,840.37 

2, 000. 00 
95,658.65 

6, 234. 88 


7 


Pesos. 
123,301.00 
4,037.00 


1,247 
474 
938 
394 
753 
288 
247 
223 


Pesos. 
3, 351, 502. 89 




365 
58 
71 
15 

220 

9 

58 

45 


5, 282, 011. 25 




1, 904, 573. 03 








5, 094, 436. 90 








2, 348, 994. 50 








4, 510, 328. 72 








1, 254, 894. 72 




4 
1 


2, 135. 38 
100. 00 


1,728,503.55 




633,040.59 






Total 




3, 903, 543. 00 




756, 245. 91 




129, 573. 47 




26,108,286.15 


CITY PROPERTY. 

San Juan 




611, 382. 15 

81, 628. 75 

34, 069. 26 

59, 883. 00 

3,000.00 

195, 969. 00 

1,400.00 

27, 643. 00 

19, 107. 00 


20 
2 

8 


226, 477. 15 
12, 263. 24 
2, 000. 00 
4, 800. 00 


i 


17,819.74 
1,200.00 


172 
64 

524 
35 

300 
54 
88 
30 


2, 429, 115. 63 




59 
11 
52 

1 
104 

3 
21 

9 


325, 138. 02 




158, 491. 25 








703, 357. 72 








86,583.74 




13 


16, 010. 00 






950, 541. 76 








70, 626. 11 




7 
3 


3, 900. 00 
985.00 


l 

2 


150. 00 
700. 00 


181, 077. 42 




33, 592. 49 






Total 




1, 034, 082. 16 




266, 435. 39 




19, 869. 74 




4, 938, 524. 14 












4, 937, 625. 16 




1,022,681.30 




149,443.21 




31, 046, 810. 29 









REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 287 

Appendix S. 

PLATFOKM OP. THE FEDERAL PARTY. 

(1) The members of the Puerto Rican Federal party, believing that the time has 
come for the reorganization of their party with a name that may embrace their ideas, 
and a platform that may give them a definite and concrete form, have decided to 
incorporate themselves in a political party that will be called the Federal Party, in 
order to cooperate in the good administration of the country. 

(2) The Federal party declares that it accepts and congratulates itself upon the 
annexation of the island to the United States, believing that Puerto Rico will be a 
prosperous and happy land under the protection of the American flag and insti- 
tutions. 

(3) The. principles of the Federal party are condensed in the following formula: 
To influence in a direct and efficacious way the development* of the interests of the 
island through an honest and intelligent administration, and a firm and decided tend- 
ency toward the absolute assimilation of the island with the United States, both in 
laws and in form of government. 

(4) The Federal party asks for Puerto Rico that it be made a Territory of the 
Union, with all the privileges of a State except the right to send Senators and Repre- 
sentatives_ to Congress, to which the island could send, like any other Territory, a 
Delegate with voice but without a vote. 

(5) The Federal party hopes that Puerto Rico in the future will be made a State 
without any restriction, like any other State in the Union. 

(6) The Federal party will work to maintain the complete autonomy of the 
municipalities, so that the ayuntamientos may resolve all their local affairs, such as 
municipal accounts, budgets, public instruction, police, public health, charity, pub- 
lic works, etc. , without the intervention of the central authority. 

(7) The Federal party will also work to maintain the rights of individuals, and 
will advocate the most ample system of suffrage, without opposing, however, any 
limitations that may be thought prudent by the United States, but representing 
always their desire that all resident citizens of the island be permitted to vote. 

(8) The Federal party understands the necessity of abolishing all customs duties 
between Puerto Rico and the rest of the Union, and will advocate the establishment 
of free trade and a uniform currency, the American dollar to be made the legal- 
tender standard with the least possible loss to the insular currency. 

(9) The Federal party realizes also that the development of the country requires 
that franchises be given to banking institutions with the greatest possible urgency; 
that the insular industries be effectively protected; that an impulse be given without 
delay to public works; and that direct imposts for the general expenses of the Terri- 
tory be gradually suppressed. 

(10) The Fedei-al party has at heart the interests of the laborers and farmers; it 
watches with interest their progress in public life; it works to harmonize the interest 
of capital and labor, and will persist in giving a place in elective bodies to virtuous 
and intelligent men, independently of race and occupation. 

(11) The Federal party will leave the creation and maintenance of schools to the 
municipalities, committing the primary tuition in all its various degrees to the 
representatives of the people, subject to the general plan that may be adopted by 
the legislature of the Territory. 

(12) Respecting the higher instruction, both university and professional, the 
Federal party will propose the installation of all necessary centers to arrive at a good 
standard in arts and sciences, giving special attention to those that are of practical 
application; and will incessantly advocate the establishment of a university. 

(13) The Federal party will keep apart from obsolete methods, and will institute 
colleges where women may receive serious instruction that may make it possible for 
them to practice the different professions to which they already dedicate themselves 
in more advanced countries. 

(14) In general we believe that our legislation ought to tend to an identification 
of methods of the American and Puerto Rican schools; this end may be reached by a 
gradual and scientific adaptation. 

(15) In reference to the organization of courts, the Federal party believes in the 
advisability of electing judicial officers by popular suffrage, by the vote of the legis- 
lature, or of appointing them "by opposition," according to the nature of their 
duties, independently of any political interest, thus placing the judges in a position 
of wholesome independence. 

(16) The Federal party places among its most important principles the establish- 
ment of trial by jury. 



288 REPORT OF BRIG ADIEE- GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 

(17) The Federal party proposes to undertake the reform of our civil, penal, and 
administrative legislation, upholding the moral and material interests of our society, 
but with decided democratic tendency. 

(18) The Federal party, finally, has faith in the traditions and characteristics of 
the American people, and has also much confidence in the power of the people of 
this island to make Puerto Eico, under the United States flag, a land of wealth and 
culture. 

San Juan, P. E., October 1, 1899. 

Jose H. Amadeo, Eafael Arrillaga, Mariano Acosta, Juan E. Baiz, Antonio 
E. Barcelo, Acisclo Bou de la Torre, Felipe B. Cordero, Jose Cordoves 
Berrios, Guillermo Colon Atilano, Antonio Colon, Salvador Carbonell, 
Miguel Chiques, Manuel Camunas, Jose B. Cintron, Jose Cobian Ei- 
vera, Eamon Cestero, Francisco de Celis Alquia, Luis de Celis, Her- 
minio Diaz Navarro, Jose Gonzalo Diaz, Eamon H. Delgado, Julio Diaz, 
Jose Elzaburro, Laurentino Estrella, Tomas N. Fradera, Nepomuceno 
Flores, Agustin Nevara, Manuel Gorbea Guzman, Fernando Gonza- 
les, Julio Grau, Julio Gandia, Juan Hernandez Lopez, Eamon Hoyos 
Delgado, Jose Janer Soler, Alfredo de la Cruz, Luis Munoz Eivera, 
Eamon Mendez Cardona, Luis Munoz Morales, Jose Munoz Eivera, 
Antonio Marque Diaz, Marcos A. Manzano, Vicente Muno Barrios, 
Felix Matos Bernier, Francisco Marxuach, Francisco I. Nater, Santi- 
ago Openhiemer, Manuel Perez Aviles, Feliz Perez Eivera, Jose Ga- 
briel Palacio Slazar, Eamon H. Patron, Santiago E. Palmer, Gregorio 
Eodriguez Escribano, Manuel Eoman, Luis Eodriguez Cabrero, Anto- 
nio Eosell, Jacinto Seijo, Jose Serra, Jose Sosa, Eamon Siaca Pacheco, 
Francisco J. Sala, Modesto Sola, Ezequiel Tristane, Arturo Umpierre, 
Luis E. Velasquez, Arturo Vasquez Prada, Federico E. Virella, Jose 
G. del Valle. 



Appendix T. 

PLATFORM OP THE PUERTO-RICAN REPUBLICAN PARTY, 1899. 

To the people : 

The old political parties that struggled during the Spanish domination have disap- 
peared. 

It is urgent now to start a new party with new ideas, that all the residents of the 
country who wish may unite in the development of our island under the protection 
and principles of the American flag. 

Our principles in brief are as follows: 

Definite and sincere annexation to the United States. 

An organized Territory for Puerto Eico, as the way to become in time a State of the 
Federal Union. 

We are convinced that it would not be for the benefit of our country to be inde- 
pendent on account of its small area and on account of the bad political education we 
have received. 

We do not feel satisfied with the false advantages of an Antille confederation, as 
it is true that the old Spanish Antilles have the same origin; the language, history, 
and traditions are the same. Cuba is not yet organized. We could not find any 
assistance toward perfection in Santo Domingo, as it is rapidly retrograding under her 
form of government. 

Puerto Eico could not find in its surroundings any examples for self-government or 
of its local affairs, hence we seek the guarantees of a powerful and well-organized 
nation that promises us the free exercise of liberties. 

Puerto Eico, to-day a Territory and later a State of the Union, will realize the most 
perfect ideal of the Puerto Eican people. 

When we have effective local government and direct intercourse with the States 
of the Union in national and other affairs, with the good influence which such a union 
would bring to our island, it will be the means of guiding us to the highest culture in 
human destinies. 

The time has come when we must advance American principles and customs. With 
due care, knowing the needs of our people, we have arranged a platform for the 
' ' Puerto Eican Eepublican party ' ' which we submit to the consideration of our people, 
trusting and hoping that every good and patriotic citizen will join us and support our 
just cause. 



EEPOET OF BEIGADIEE-GENEEAL GEO. W. DAVIS. . 289 

A convention will soon be called to discuss and decide upon a programme and con- 
sider in detail the principles stated in our platform, which are as follows: 



It is the highest duty of every citizen to uphold the laws of the land and the integ- 
rity of his country. 

That we pledge ourselves as men, animated by a common cause, aiming at a com- 
mon object, to do all in our power to improve our government. 

We indorse and commend the able, patriotic, and true American spirit manifested 
by Hon. William McKinley, President of the United, States, in releasing us from the 
misrule of Spain, and we pledge our faithfulness to adhere to the new principles of 
our new country, and have for our aim harmony, unity, and good government, rely- 
ing with confidence upon the hope of a speedy settlement of our national affairs. 



1. The name of our party shall be the Kepublican party of Puerto Eico. 

AMERICAN FLAG. 

2. We declare our sincere loyalty to the American flag and American ideas, and 
hereby pledge ourselves to strive to become worthy of the great nation of which we 
now are a part. 

ANNEXATION. 

3. We hail with pride our annexation to the United States. 

GOVERNMENT. 

4. We believe that the people of Puerto Eico could be trusted with the civil govern- 
ment of the island, but as that authority only emanates from Congress of the United 
States, it is but our duty to wait their action. While under military government 
awaiting action by Congress, we desire that all civil offices should be filled by men 
capable, honest, and of unquestioned loyalty to the Government of the United States, 
and disposed to act singly for the best interest of this island and our common coun- 
try, without distinction, thereby affording us an opportunity to demonstrate our fitness 
for self-government, with all the burdens and responsibilities which it entails, and 
which will hasten the day when our island will have a place among the States of the 
Union. 

FREE SUFFRAGE. 

5. We affirm our devotion to the national Constitution and. the autonomy reserved 
to our country thereunder; to the personal rights and liberties of all the citizens of 
our country, and especially to the supreme and sovereign right of every lawful citizen, 
rich or poor, native or foreign born, to cast one free ballot in public elections, and to 
have that ballot duly counted. 

We hold the free and honest popular ballot and the just and equal representation 
of all the people to be the foundation of our republican government, and demand 
effective legislation to secure the integrity and purity of elections, which are the 
fountains of all public authority. 

FREEDOM. 

6. The reliance of free popular government and the maintenance of freedom among 
all men is upon the intelligence and integrity of the people. We therefore declare 
our devotion to liberty of thought and freedom of speech and of the press, and 
approve these agencies, which contribute to this end. We oppose any union of 
church and' state. 

LABOR. 

7. We declare our hostility to the introduction into this island of foreign contract 
labor. 

EDUCATION. 

8. In this new acquisition to the United States, in order to promote education 
throughout^ the island, we favor the establishment of free public and nonsectarian 
schools sufficient to afford to every child growing up in the land the opportunity of 
a good common school education. We believe that the English language, soon to be 
the official language, should be taught in all our schools, thus laying the foundation 
fitting our island for a place as a free State of the Union. 

12558 19 



290 REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 



TAXATION. 



9. That the systems of taxation under which revenues are derived are vicious and 
insufficient, and it is necessary for the equalization of the burden of taxation that 
the law regulating the same be changed at once to American principles of taxation 
suitable to the conditions of Puerto Rico. 



<"'<>MMERCE. 



10. We believe, as we are under the direct protection of the United States and a 
part of that great nation, that commerce should be free between the island of Puerto 
Rico and the United States, thereby giving us the same rights and privileges of any 
State or Territory of the Union. 



11 . In order to divert the financial panic which now threatens us, and in order 
that the tiller of the soil and the tradesman of the land may be justly compensated 
for their toils and labors, we declare ourselves in favor of the exchange of the pro- 
vincial money of the island of Puerto Rico for the money of the United States. As 
it is right and proper that every dollar, paper or coin, issued by the government be 
as good as any other. 

And that the exchange take place immediately with free commerce between Puerto 
Rico and the United States. 

AGRICULTURE. 

12. Puerto Rico is an agricultural country, and upon that portion of the island falls 
the greatest burden of taxation under the present system. 

The extremely oppressive taxation, the high tariff on agricultural implements, and 
the excessive customs duties on the products of the soil should be so regulated as to 
furnish relief to the agriculturist, who cannot now meet his daily obligations. 

JUDICIARY. 

13. We are in favor of establishing American system of courts, which guarantees 
to every man justice and right and a trial freely without sale, fully without any 
denial, and speedily without delay according to the law of the land. 

14. We congratulate ourselves and our country on being under the protection of 
the American flag, the recognized emblem of liberty, and will lend every effort to 
advance civilization, to teach loyalty, to love American institutions, and honor Wash- 
ington, Lincoln, and McKinley, whose names are household words throughout the 
land. • 

San Juan, March 25, 1899. 

Lcdo. Manuel F. Rossy, Dr. Jose C. Barbosa, Luis Sanchez Morales, Lcdo. 
Juan Ramon Ramos, Dr. Francisco del Valle, Lcdo. Federico Dege- 
' tau, Lcdo. Fidel Guillermety, Cruz Castro, Dr. Fernando Nunez, Dr. 
Gabriel Ferrer, Dr. Pedro del Valle, Roberto H. Todd, Bartolome 
Llovet, Ramon Falcon, Jose Gordils, Jaime Sifre, Jose" Francisco Diaz, 
Salomon Dones, Dr. Salvador G. Ros, Geronimo Agrait, Vicente Gui- 
llot, Dr. Jose Carbonell, Dr. Fernandez Nater, Lcdo. Enrique Hernan- 
dez, Francisco Candela, Jose" M a . Candela, Luis Venegas, ArturoVega 
Morales, Dr. Manuel del Valle Atiles, Raimundo Palacios Salazar, 
Manuel Nussa Chiques, Jose" C. Rossy. 



Appendix U. 



San Juan, P. R., September 25, 1899. 
Adjutant-General Department of Puerto Rico, 

San Juan, P. R. 
Sir: In compliance with an indorsement from the adjutant-general's office, depart- 
ment of Puerto Rico, on a letter from the Secretary^of War dated August 9, 1899, 1 
have the honor to make the following report: 

As regards steps taken in the formation of a civil government for this island, but 
few facts have come under the observation of the commander of this post, his duties 
having been almost entirely military. San Juan is the headquarters of the military 



REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 291 

department of Puerto Rico and also of the various departments of insular govern- 
ment, and correspondence concerning matters as regards civil government in this 
district has been direct with and attended to by the military department staff, so that 
the post commander has little or no record in this office on which to base remarks 
concerning this subject except the general orders of the department that have been 
issued from time to time. 

At the time of the American occupation a greater part of the arable land was 
owned by wealthy men in the form of large estates, it being the exception for men of 
small means to own farms. On these estates live the greater part of the country 
population of the island in the capacity of tenants or peons, the tenant usually being 
allowed to cultivate a small plot of land for garden purposes, paying the landlord a 
portion of the product as rent. There was no system of peonage by which the 
laborer was bound in any way to remain with the landowner. This evil system of 
landholding still remains the same and can only be corrected by good government. 

In the city of San Juan the laboring classes worked for wages, there being no oppor- 
tunity, owing to the dense population, for gardening, so that the prosperity of the 
people depended entirely upon the supply and demand for labor, which seems to 
have been such as to make them comfortable, according to their standard of living, 
which is much lower and less ambitious than among the same class of people in the 
United States. The city of San Juan has a population of about 20,000, being about 
5,000 or 6,000 overcrowded, according to American standards. The houses, especially 
those occupied by the poorer people, are devoid of any sanitary plumbing, and are 
without proper ventilation for the number who live in them. The industrial condi- 
tions are about the same since the American occupation as before. There is work 
for those who desire it in this district, and the indigent are not many, barring the 
victims of the recent hurricane. Some of the taxes have been removed from the 
necessaries of life. 

The enforcement of the marriage laws was slack under Spanish rule, a great many 
of the poorer population being born of parentage not legally married according to the 
Spanish laws, but who lived in a sort of concubinage, a custom developed by the 
expense attached to a legal marriage. 

Drivers and draymen were often cruel in the treatment of beasts of burden. Bull 
drivers universally carried a long pole with a steel spike in the end, which they used 
without mercy, and the native ponies were often driven to carts much overloaded; 
but the use of goads and the general abuse of animals has been materially checked. 

Schools, while well established by law, were very poor in practice, but have been 
materially improved within the last year. . • 

A Puerto Rican Battalion of 400 men was organized between March 28 and June 
30, 1899, and they have proved to be good soldiers and a success for the purpose 
for which organized, that is, service in Puerto Rico. 

Very respectfully, I. D. De Russy, 

Colonel Eleventh Infantry, Commanding Post. 



Appendix U 2. 

Post of Mayaguez, Puerto Rico, 

. September 23, 1899. 
Adjutant-General Department op Puerto Rico, 

San Juan, P. R. 

Sir: In obedience to the instructions contained in the reference, under date of 
August 21, 1899, to me of the letter of August 9, 1899, to the department commander, 
I have the honor to submit the following report: 

I arrived in Puerto Rico on November 16, 1898, and have been since that date sta- 
tioned m the city of Mayaguez. My personal experience of other cities and districts 
in the island is too limited to make any observations of mine upon them of any appre- 
ciable value. 

Confining myself, then, to Mayaguez, I may say of the industrial, economic, and 
social conditions existing in the island upon the assumption of control by the United 
States and of the results of American occupation: Of the former they were much less 
disturbed by the state of war and change of sovereignty, considering the origin, his- 
tory, and traditions of the inhabitants, than might have been reasonably expected. 
While the Puerto Ricans gladly welcomed the Americans as their deliverers from the 
oppression of a Government they had long learned to hate, the Spaniards who chose 
to remain in the island soon found that under the American flag they were amply 



292 REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 

protected in their peaceful pursuits, and enjoyed an immunity from many arbitrary 
and vexatious legal and other annoyances to which they had been always subjected. 

While bnsiness has at no time taken on the character of a boom, as many hoped 
^and believed it would when the island was taken under the protection of the United 
'States, there has not been anything to justify serious complaint that could be charged 
to the change of government, while on the other hand the money which has been 
spent. for the maintenance of troops has largely helped to tide over a period which 
would soon have, as the natural. sequence of a long chain of events, overwhelmed the 
community with financial disaster. 

]y[uch has been said about the supposed unhappy condition of the country being 
due to the fact that the war with Spain deprived this community, almost exclusively 
agricultural, of its best markets without substituting others, but from my point of 
view, under the corrupt methods of administering laws, generally admitted to be good 
in themselves, that formerly prevailed here the more markets and the more profit- 
able they proved to be, the more rapid and certain must have been the destruction 
of the proprietors of the coffee and sugar plantations, because for every addition to 
their wealth came new schemes for abstracting it from them and putting it into the 
treasure chests of the traditional and insatiable officials, so that in a short time the 
latter might have possessed the land of the country and had the former proprietors 
for peones. 

Under American rule offices have been abolished or reduced in numbers to such 
an extent as to produce consternation among the class who have heretofore been 
allowed to live in the belief that offices were created for the support of them and 
their kind, and not simply for the administration of the affairs of the country. 

So far as I have been able to discover from reading the papers, which are generally 
frankly and avowedly political journals, politics, as understood here, has no rela- 
tion whatever to the science or art of efficient government, but is solely concerned 
with the maintenance in office of those who have been so fortunate as to have already 
acquired their seats, either by appointment or by command of the recognized head 
and leader of the ' ' party. ' ' 

As to the present economic and industrial situation existing here, it seems to me 
that it is steadily improving, in spite of the croakings of those who are either born 
pessimists, careless observers, or urgent advocates of the remission of all taes now 
due and of relief from the imposition of any for some years to come. 

Notwithstanding the effects of the hurricane of August 8, the destruction of great 
plantations of coffee trees, and in some, even many cases, of the lands themselves by 
landslides, large quantities of supplies of all kinds required in the country are being 
shipped daily by the Avholesale merchants of the city, who apparently have no 
anxiety about receiving in due time the money for them. Since August 25, 1898, 
five of the large grocery houses have sold and shipped into the country about Maya- 
guez the following: 

Pounds. 

Beans . 38, 482 

Rice 433, 825 

Codfish 187, 275 

Flour 299, 600 

The manufacturing interests of the city are not great, although they are well sup- 
ported — a planing mill and steam coffee-cleaning mill combined ; a tannery ; an ice 
plant, capacity about 10 tons per day; an electric-light plant, furnishing lights for 
the streets as w T ell as residences and other buildings. There is a tramway which has 
its rails laid in nearly all the principal streets, but operates its cars steadily on only 
two or three of them. 

Boots, shoes, clothing, tinware, furniture, horseshoes, bricks, etc., are all made by 
hand, and furnish apparently a good support to a large number of industrious and, 
in many cases, skilled people. What would become of all these people should the 
doctrine of unlimited free trade with the United States become a reality is a question 
apparently demanding some consideration, for of course none of these people could 
hope for a moment to compete with the machine-made goods so easily and cheaply 
manufactured in the United States. Of course matters would adjust themselves after 
a while, as they always do, but while the people were accommodating themselves to 
the changed condition of affairs there might be some bewilderment and more dis- 
satisfaction in being told that the change was entirely for their own profit and good — 
a statement whose truth they might not be able to fully realize until later on. 

The municipal affairs of this city have been very well administered during the 
time I have been in command of Mayaguez. At the time of the American occupa- 
tion Mr. Santiago R. Palmer, now a notary public in San Juan, was made the mayor 



REPOET OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 293 

of the city. He is a man of intelligence and honor, and left the impress of his char- 
acter on his assistant when he resigned the mayoralty, so that, as far as it has been 
possible for them to do, they have followed in the course he laid out. When they 
have attempted to depart from it, as they have only a few times, they have been 
recalled to the proper path by the military authorities, always yielding prompt obedi- 
ence. They have many of the faults common, apparently, to all the municipal bodies 
that I know anything of in tne island, one of which is that of endeavoring to help 
their social or political friends, even at the expense of the public good; but as this is 
the result of heredity there is little hope of correcting it in this generation. It can 
only be watched and measures taken to guard against its effects. They are proud of 
their city, as they have reason to be, as it is probably the neatest, most orderly, and 
best laid out city in the island. Although there is no sewerage system, the city is very 
healthy, and, as a rule, free from the most ordinary epidemics. With the introduc- 
tion of a sewer system, and an improvement and enlargement of the waterworks I 
see no reason why the place should not be as uniformly healthy as most of the cities 
m the United States. 

The streets are brilliantly illuminated by arc lamps. The police are governed by 
regulations modeled on those of the New York City police, are neatly uniformed, 
polite, and courteous, and perform their duties, as a rule, promptly, cheerfully, and 
efficiently. •" 

The city has no debt worth mentioning, and had, at last accounts, some 140, 000 
pesos due for unpaid taxes. 

The fire department is not very effective, as the only engine in use is an old pne 
like a square box on wheels, into which the water is poured from buckets, and then 
forced out by means of the hand pumps worked by the firemen. As to the person- 
nel, if not beyond criticism, it is dangerous to criticise it in the presence of the people 
who seem to have an admiration for it incomprehensible to the average American, 
but which might possibly be understood by one who had not yet forgotten the glory 
surrounding the memories of the members of the old volunteer fire departments of 
the United States. 

The city of Mayaguez, with a reported population of 37,000, comprises 31 barrios 
or wards. Some of these wards are from 10 to 15 miles distant from the city hall 
and instead of forming regular villages, as might be supposed, consist of huts or 
]acals scattered over the neighboring hills. Each has a commissary or mayor who is 
supposed, under the mayor of Mayaguez, to exercise some sort of supervision or con- 
trol over the people of his barrio ; but, as he receives no salary, he is very unlikely to 
give much attention to the duties of his office, especially when his own private affairs 
make equal or greater demands upon his time. 

Hormigueros which was annexed to Mayaguez some months ago was, up to that 
time, an independent town with its mayors, secretary, council, etc., and is the largest 
oi tne barrios. The town consists of a small hamlet, clustered about the church, which 
was once quite a famous place, pilgrimages being made to it from other islands of the 
West Indies. As the maintenance of a town organization cost the taxpayers who did 
not reside in the town, but on their coffee and sugar estates, $7,000 United States 
per year, they considered it too expensive a luxury, and, on their petition, approved 
by tbe council of Mayaguez, the department commander ordered an election held 
winch resulted m only two votes being cast for retaining the town organization As 
a barrio of Mayaguez it has done just as well as when an independent town with its 
own council, and the taxpayers have been relieved of an unnecessarv burden 

The towns of Afiasco, population 11,000; Las Morias, 7,000; Moricao 9 000 all be- 
longing to this military district, are, although the center of large coffee and sugar 
industries, m a wretched state, due, in my opinion, to years of maladministration, 
official corruption, and neglect. 

All have mayors, councils, and other officeholders, with all the official machinery 
supposed to be necessary for the effective administration of the municipalities but 
tiiey appear to have fallen into an almost hopeless state of apathy and decay 

It is possible that when the elections proposed to be ordered' by the department 
commander have been held, it may transpire that some better men have been chosen 
to hold the municipal offices than those who now occupy them, in which event these 
places may take a new lease of life and finally become prosperous communities, 
lhey were all considerably injured by the recent hurricane, but the damages done 
by that can be much more easily repaired than those resulting from years of mis- 
government, unequal taxation, and official neglect. 

San Guman, the remaining town immediately subject to the control of the military 
authorities of Mayaguez, had, some years ago, a population of nearly 20,000 souls. 
It is believed to be much less than that now. The town was founded in 1511 and is 
one ot the most picturesque places to be found in the island or elsewhere. The soil 



294 REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 

is so fertile in the surrounding country that it produces, or would produce, a wonder- 
ful variety of cereals, fruits, etc. It is, however, suffering from the same faults in 
administration as the places already named, and the department commander has been 
already requested to order an election held there as soon as convenient. 

As, so far as I am aware, " all the measures and steps taken in the formation of 
civil government for the island and its several provinces and districts" are embraced 
in the general orders issued by the several commanders of the department of Puerto 
Elco, I presume that it is unnecessary to furnish them with this report to the depart- 
ment commander. 

My efforts to obtain certain statistics which I thought might be of value in con- 
nection with this report — although I am not sure that they would have been — have 
failed. Those of an official nature, I was informed, could only be obtained with the 
consent of the authorities in San Juan, and those I endeavored to procure from the 
civil authorities here are so incomplete that they would have little or no value. The 
newspapers of the country are so entirely devoted to the indefinable thing they call 
politics, that they seldom contain anything about the manufactures, resources of the 
country, their development, or suggestions to their readers as to the best means of 
utilizing them for the benefit of the country; that they are, unlike the great papers 
of the United States, practically worthless as sources of information. 
Very respectfully, 

C. C. C. Care, 
Lieutenant-Colonel Fifth Cavalry, Commanding Mayaguez.- 



Appendix U 3. 

Post of Ponce, P. R., September, 23, 1899. 
Adjutant-General Department of Puerto Rico, 

San Juan, P. E. 

Sir: In compliance with indorsement, August 21, 1899, on letter from the Assistant 
Secretary of War to governor-general of Puerto Rico, I have the honor to submit here- 
with a brief report on the matters indicated therein, as far as is possible for me to do 
without more preparation. 

Prior to the occupation by the United States the industrial condition of the plan- 
tations and people were in a moderate state of prosperity. The farms in this vicinity 
were all in fair condition as regards the main buildings, but all others were, according 
to reports, in poor condition. 

The main trade was with Spain, Germany, France, and Italy; very little trade, 
except in sugar, with the United States. 

The people generally, in the municipalities, were burdened with heavy taxes to 
support a large number of high-salaried officials, whom, it is currently reported, 
appropriated some, at least, of the funds accrued to their own personal use and benefit. 
The running expenses of all the municipalities were very large, and as a consequence 
made a heavy burden on the planters, which, in turn, affected the labor by decreasing 
their wages and raising the price of food stuffs. 

Socially, the people were divided into four distinct classes: The "upper ten," offi- 
cials and professional men, who were almost entirely exclusive. Then another set, 
composed of professional men and large dealers, who, on certain occasions, met with 
the first. The third class comprised small owners, dealers, and artisans of all trades. 
This class of people kept almost entirely to themselves, making a very discordant 
element in most of the large towns, thus engendering severe political feeling. The 
fourth class was composed of the low order of blacks and native Puerto Ricans. 
These constitute most of the day laborers, and of them much good can not be said. 

Autonomy was granted a few months before the declaration of war, which, accord- 
ing to reports, inaugurated a better feeling toward Spain. 

As a result of the distinction in classes, the three lower classes were almost always 
arrayed against the first. 

The assumption of autonomy had not, at the time of the occupation, entirely filled 
the expectations of some of the political parties. As, naturally, the party out were 
arrayed against the party appointed to power at the time, an effort was made to con- 
solidate the two parties, without success. 

Educational facilities were not good, and only a minor number of the lower class 
received any schooling. 

Money generally was high and in great demand, and as a consequence the poorer 
people suffered a great deal for the actual necessities of life. 



REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 295 

A detailed statement of the measures taken to form civil government under the 
military rule is not of course at hand here, for, generally speaking, these steps had 
their inception at the head of the government in San Juan, leaving part of the details 
to be carried out in the different municipalities. Legislation is confined in these 
places to the local ordinances necessary for the control of the police force, municipal 
boards, etc. The executive and judicial functions are vested almost entirely in the 
alcalde and council and the municipal judge, for all except criminal offenses, which 
were under the judge of instruction and the criminal court. The military power has 
not been used except in cases of extreme necessity, the only recent occasion being 
that of the storm of August 8, which somewhat demoralized the civil executive 
functions for about twenty-fours, rendering action necessary. 

Since the occupation and up to the date of the storm, August 8, the industrial con- 
ditions have, according to the best disinterested reports, improved, because the large 
owners, having been pecuniarily embarrassed by the heavy taxes and the want of 
money for current expenses, and a desire for that reason to dispose of their proper- 
ties at a good figure to capital from the United States, improved the farms as much 
as possible in appearance, and in many instances in fact. Another reason, the price 
of coffee was expected to go up, so that by common reports these conditions have 
somewhat improved and an increase of crops been planted. The increased lease of 
time in which to pay off indebtedness and recover from the effects of former condi- 
tions has also enabled the planters to make minor improvements. 

It can hardly be said that in such a short time the country has improved to the 
extent demanded by popular expectation, as a result of a war and occupation by the 
United States. There have been many necessary expenses taken off the budgets of 
most of the municipalities hi this district, and taxes, in some instances, removed on 
small dealers and somewhat increased in other ways, taking a small portion of the 
burden of taxation from people least able to stand it. 

The social conditions have not materially changed since July, 1898, according to 
common report. 

The tariff is some 12 to 13 per cent lower than under Spanish rule. 

The people generally feel more freedom of speech and action, amounting sometimes 
nearly to license, from an uneducated idea of freedom, but which is fast being dissi- 
pated. 

It is regretted that this office has been unable, since the storm, to give more atten- 
tion to minor details relating to civil matters, necessary for such a paper as this, and 
for this reason and the fact that my command here extends back only to July 1, this 
report is necessarily brief, nor do I know if it reaches exactly the points aimed at. 

I expect to have within a week *or two a paper from the town council on these 
subjects, which, if found of any intelligent use, will be forwarded. 
Very respectfully, 

Albert L. Myer, 
Major, Eleventh Infantry, Commanding Post. 



Appendix U 4. 

Ponce, P. R., September 15, 1899. 
Adjutant-General Department of Puerto Rico, 

San Juan, P. R. 

Sir: In accordance with indorsement of August 21, 1899, on a letter from the 
Assistant Secretary of War to the governor-general of Puerto Rico, dated Washing- 
ton, D. C, August 9, 1899, I have the honor to submit the following report, which, 
in order to show all points as far as possible, is more detailed and extended than I 
had intended: 

The conditions existing on the island of Puerto Rico previous to the American 
occupation, as is well known, were bad, and the government was by the few for the 
few. Trade with Spain was comparatively free (only 10 per cent duties being 
required) , and the importation of a few articles was prohibited and an export duty 
on some articles was charged. Everything was done to assist the Spanish element, 
and little was done to assist the natives. Wrong and sometimes cruel treatment of 
the natives by the Spaniards was common. Actual slavery had been abolished, but 
virtual slavery remained, and no man knew when he was likely to commit an offense 
against the Spanish Government, and when, as a result, he would be imprisoned. 
For all this there was no redress. It was only a few r months before the Spanish- 
American war began that autonomy was granted, and it may-be assumed that it was 



296 REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 

only in consequence of prospective war that it was granted. Besides, there were 
many social and personal abuses of the people that were not corrected by autonomy, 
so that the people were ready for any sort of a change which might in some way 
afford relief from their long suffering. 

The American occupation began July 25, 1898, at Guanica, P. R., and was com- 
pleted at San Juan, P. R., October 18, 1899. The Americans Avere received with 
open arms by the Puerto Ricans, especially those of the laboring and lower classes. 
The Spanish and their sympathizers naturally kept aloof. To anyone who had a 
good acquaintance with the Mexicans, had traveled in France and Italy, and was an 
observing man, the frequent "Vivan los Americanos" meant little, and was simply 
the outburst of the moment; but beneath those "Vivans" there was in the case of 
Puerto Rico more, because the fame of the great Republic had long been known, and 
the desii-e for the freedom of that country was great as the wrongs of the people had 
been great, and these wrongs had remained unredressed, so the people expected much 
from the Americans, not in a year, or a few months, but at once, and great has been 
their disappointment when as months have passed most of the island's conditions 
have remained unchanged, due largely to the politicians of the island. Among the 
first changes expected was free trade with the United States, an increase in the wages 
of the laborers, and a definite settlement of the money question. It was expected, too, 
that a great market would be obtained for the island's products. None of these 
things have come about. It was also expected that previous taxes and laws would 
be at once abolished, and a more just and equitable system of both be adopted at 
once. There have been efforts already made in this direction, with as yet small 
effect. The money question is not settled, and that fact has prevented the proper 
transaction of business, because of the uncertainties connected with it in consequence 
of the rates of exchange. I can not say that industries of any kind have increased, 
and many enterprises are awaiting a definite settlement of the tariff question, and 
Others are held in abeyance because it is not possible to get franchises at present. 

I find that the acreage of coffee has not been increased, but that of sugar and to- 
bacco has increased some, and these are the chief crops of the island. The social 
conditions have remained about the same, though the people, especially those of the 
lower classes, enjoy a personal freedom unknown under the Spanish rule. Educa- 
tional facilities were, and are still, very few and rudimentary. The public schools are 
not such as would be recognized as such in the United States, while there seems to 
be a desire among many to learn; still, among others there is little desire or disposi- 
tion to spend money for education. Idleness has not increased, still I don't think it 
has diminished much. A great deal of the idleness is enforced, especially in the in- 
terior, where at some seasons of the year it is impossible for laborers to find employ- 
ment. This, of course, has a tendency to create disturbance, which might not other- 
wise occur. The work on the roads last spring was of immense benefit, because it 
gave employment to so many men, and so kept them occupied, and because they received 
in most instances their money directly, instead of through the medium of "bosses," 
Avho formerly made way with most of the money before the laborer received it, and 
because it distributed money throughout the island. Prices are higher than formerly, 
and the tendency is to charge in American money the same prices as were charged in 
Puerto Rican money. Such a change adds 60 per cent to the purchasing price, paid by 
the consumer, while the cost price to the seller remains the same. The duties noAV 
charged on goods imported are about 1 per cent lower than under the Spanish regime, 
as stated above; yet the amount of duties collected remains about the same, thus 
showing an increase in importations. 

In general it may be assumed that there has been a slight improvement in the 
industrial, economic, and social condition of the island, but not such an improA<e- 
ment as AA - as expected by the people. On the other hand, it must be remembered 
that radical changes can not be made at once, but are the groAvth of time, and that 
seA 7 eral years must elapse before the full effect of the American occupation will be 
knoAvn. It is hard to impress this fact on even Avell-to-do natiA'es, for they groAV 
impatient oA^er expected changes that neA 7 er come about. By far the largest part of 
any dissatisfaction that exists is due to the political agitation of the island. When 
the Americans arriA^ed the tAvo political parties on the island were each expecting to 
be recognized, one more than the other, howeA T er, as it was already in poAver at the 
seat of government. Neither of these parties, so far as I could eA r er ascertain, had 
any cause for existence after the close of the Avar, as with the passing of the Spanish 
authority all points of difference of any real importance should haA r e, and probably 
really did, disappear. But the tAA - o parties still exist, chiefly I think because of the 
idol Avhich one party has made of its leader, and Avhich has caused that party to deny 
freedom of action or thought to the more ignorant members of the party who may 
wish to act independently. Any recognition of any party at the beginning was, I 



REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 297 

think, a mistake, which has hindered the advancement of the island and progress 
toward new methods which would otherwise have been adopted for the great benefit 
of the people of the island. As it was, the party in power remained in power and 
was much more interested in putting its friends in offices as alcaldes and councilmen 
in the various towns and villages of the island than it was in reforming abuses ; and 
it seemed to me that the politicians were anxious to get into offices in order that they 
might to some extent at least do just what the Spaniards in the same position had 
done. 

There was an immediate demand that everyone who had been employed by the 
Spaniards in every town should be immediately removed from office without regard 
to nationality or the fact that they were competent and filling their positions satis- 
factorily to all. That was one thing expected from the American occupation. Those 
that had never been in office were to get offices whether fitted for them or not. The 
Spaniards had filled offices, grown rich, and left the country; why not they? This 
desire was natural enough, but the full effect of carrying it out can only be under- 
stood when it is known that politics on the island was at the time of the American 
occupation personal, whatever it may be now; and this fact interfered with business 
of every kind. It does to-day. Could the two political parties of the island be united , 
at least temporarily, it would make a great difference in the progress of civil affairs 
on the island. Of course, two parties would be again formed, but on different lines, 
like the parties of the United States. Politics in the United States is not the same as 
here, and Tammany Hall in its palmiest days never reached the level of Puerto Rican 
politics. The fact that the same government as that which existed under the Span- 
iards was continued for a time, at least, under the Americans caused disappointment to 
a large number of people, because many of the acts of the Governor-General were 
obstructed as far as possible by those civil officials whose duty it was to execute 
them, and some of those acts are to this day a dead letter in many towns and vil- 
lages; and the effect has been to seriously delay progress on the island. A change in 
methods implies generally a change in some of the officials; hence the failure to carry 
out instructions. Any change not involving an expenditure of money or necessitating 
the changing of officials is generally carried out. 

The order granting the right of habeas corpus when thoroughly understood will be 
highly appreciated, and I do not think the people will ever allow it to be changed. 
It will correct a great evil on this island, namely, the power of alcaldes and others to 
imprison people on mere suspicion and keep them imprisoned for unlimited periods 
without a trial or hearing of any kind. This power is still exercised, especially in the 
interior towns, by ignorant alcaldes. The exercise of this power has enabled alcaides 
at the instance of others often higher in authority to imprison those who werepoliti- 
cally opposed to them so as to prevent the spread of their influence, etc. The poli- 
ticians have not been anxious to have changes made, and if they have fully understood 
orders and reforms they have often failed to explain them, except where it would be 
to their advantage to do so. This will explain the slow progress in the many parts 
of the island since the American occupation. The voice of the politician has been 
stronger than the voice of the Government. The people have learned under their 
former government not to trust each other, consequently they do not trust anyone 
else, so they have largely assumed that an American official' is on a par with the 
Spanish officials until he shows himself of a different stamp. The fact that some offi- 
cials have not acted as they should have done has helped to bring forth the now often- 
repeated statement that "things are no better than they were under the Spaniards." 
I have found no one, however, who says they are any Avorse. The politicians of the 
island are to blame for its condition, and I believe that if for a few months, at least, 
after the American occupation American officers of experience had been put at the 
head of affairs in all departments the politicians would not have had anything to do 
for a time. The town treasuries would have had much more money in them, the 
number of false imprisonments would have been reduced to a minimum, if not totally 
prevented, the town councils would have performed their duties instead of being 
weekly political conventions, which they virtually were and probably are still. 
Greater progress would have been made, better and more honest methods of business 
would have been learned, island politics would have largely died out, and above all, 
the people would have been much more contented, because a full treasury implies 
honesty and absence of ward politics implies justice, and both imply a good admin- 
istration. There would have been practically no objection, because such action 
would have been expected as a natural result of the war. Any objections would have 
come from a few politicians who, of course, would not care to lose their power or 
hold on the people. 

I give this opinion as the result of my own experience and that of other officers and 
other Americans of the better class, who have great sympathy for the people and are 



298 REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. . 

willing to do much to better their condition. Great patience is required in dealing 
with the people of Puerto Rico, who neither understand our language and customs 
nor our educational and religious systems. This naturally produces suspicion, which, 
under ordinary circumstances, would not be warranted, because under the Spanish 
regime there was foundation for it. Some officers and many other Americans in the 
pursuit of business openings have forgotten and still forget to exercise patience of any 
kind, and have not taken and do not take into consideration language, customs, etc., 
but want an immediate change, and this has caused and still causes more opposition 
to change or reform, with the result that many natives who have not been out of the 
island doubt whether there is any liberty in the United States. Americans have 
failed, too, to take into account the intense feeling of "la patria" that exists in the 
island, which we do not understand, but which to them means a great deal. 

There is quite a difference in many ways between most of the coast towns, where 
the natives often come more or less in contact with foreigners, and the interior towns, 
where, owing to lack of means of communication, the people rarely meet strangers. 
The town governments are about the same everywhere on the island, and in all o'f 
them the alcaldes have too much power in many ways and not enough in others. The 
position of alcalde is sought for on account of the salary and perquisites; councilmen 
receive no salaries. An alcalde, especially in the interior, is somewhat of a despot, 
who feels as though what he does is of necessity right, and resents any attempt to 
call him to account for any of his acts, and justifies his acts by a simple affirmation 
or denial of what he has done, especially in the line of expenditures. Pie needs the 
office and his political friends need it. He gets the salary and they pay few taxes — 
just enough to prevent its being said that they pay none. The nonpolitical friends of 
the alcalde and those who have in any way incurred his displeasure pay all their 
taxes, and some pay more. Under the former regime it was useless to complain, and 
many have grown to believe it useless still. Taxes are often collected, and yet the 
employees .remain unpaid or else receive small portions of what is due, varying in 
amount according to their political standing, getting a duebill for the rest. This due- 
bill is often sold at a discount to some merchant, and becomes to some extent com- 
mercial paper, and is finally at some time, when the town treasury has more than the 
usual amount of money in it, paid, and the treasury being short that much money 
new due bills are issued to other employees, and so on. This will account to some 
extent for deficiencies in many treasuries. Usually, if the taxes are honestly and 
impartially collected, enough money will be received to pay the current expenses of 
most towns, and have a small surplus which could be used to pay outstanding debts 
each month, and gradually pay them off. It sometimes happens that attempts are 
made to force small landowners, by high taxation, to sell their property to large 
landowners whose property surrounds their own, and whose taxes are not above the 
ordinary. 

The abuses herein mentioned in connection with small towns were in existence 
when the Americans arrived, and they are, so far as I have observed, still in existence, 
perhaps not to the same extent in large places like San Juan, Ponce, and Mayaguez. 
However, I have been told right here in Ponce by Puerto Ricans that they do exist, 
and that one reason why they wanted their party in power was because "they would 
not have to pay so many taxes." 

There is a class of natives who have often held office and have been appointed and 
reappointed till they have grown to feel that they have an inherent right to office, 
whether fitted for it or not, and when any change is made they resent it, though by 
their own indifference to the welfare of the people they have made changes desirable. 
These men could do much but for their indifference; as it is, they are a drawback to 
reforms, chiefly because they are not first consulted about them, even the smallest 
acts of a town council. There is another class like the first, only they work entirely 
for their own interest and that of their particular party, under cover of seeking liberty 
and freedom for Puerto Rico. One class is just as bad as the other, and both are a 
hindrance to advancement and progress of any sort. The absence of a middle class 
is the great drawback to refoi'm and change. An honest election to the smallest 
office would be an impossibility without the closest supervision of American officials, 
not because honest elections are not desired, but because dishonest ones have always 
been the rule, and no efforts seem to have been made to make them honest. 

On the other hand, whenever anything is done honestly, so that all can see that it 
has been justly and impartially done, it is appreciated by all, and creates a feeling of 
satisfaction and contentment very noticeable, and this applies to everything. Efforts 
have been frequently made to try and introduce new and better methods of justice, 
taxation, and education, but these have not yet met with such results as might have 
been hoped for, although I hardly think there has been time for any change yet. 
The abolition of the office of secretary of justice was one of the best acts of the 



REPORT OF BRIGADIER- GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 299 

government, and one that I think has been highly appreciated, except by the 
politicians. 

Arriving in Puerto Rico and landing at Guanica on the 2d of August, 1898, I, with 
my company, accompanied the expedition under General Schwan against the Span- 
iards, through Hormigueros to the outskirts of Las Marias, returning to and taking 
station at Mayaguez on the 28th of August, 1898. I observed the people of the 
country, their habits and conditions, as far as possible, while with the expedition and 
while at Mayaguez, and noted the great cordiality with which we were received. It 
is evident that much was expected, and it is now evident that many of the expecta- 
tions were doomed to disappointment. The following is given to illustrate what had 
to be done: 

On the 18th of September, 1898, I was ordered to proceed with my company (H, 
Eleventh Infantry) to Aguadilla, on the northwest coast, to occupy that town and 
to take charge of the custom-house. At the same time I was to escort 146 Spanish 
prisoners of war, under charge of Maj. H. H. Benham, ordnance officer, U. S. V., 
who was to turn them over to the commanding officer (Colonel Picaso) of the 
Spanish troops at Aguadilla. 

Arriving at the railway station, about 1 mile from the town, the prisoners were 
turned over to Colonel Picaso, of the Spanish army. Having arrived a day sooner 
than that named for the occupation of the town, I, at Colonel Picaso' s request, 
remained at the railway station and camped there till 7 a. m. on the 19th, at which 
hour the Spanish troops marched out of one end of the town and I with my company 
marched in at the other, arriving at the city hall a few minutes before 8 o'clock. The 
American flag was raised over the building in the presence of a great crowd and much 
applause. The alcalde, the city councils, and the representatives of different work- 
ingmen's organizations called soon afterwards, and the barracks, custom-house, and 
other public buildings were taken charge of. That very day, on the arrival of the 
American troops in the town, there was a strike of the lightermen who were unload- 
ing two ships in the harbor, and soon after-my arrival at the hotel I was visited by a 
delegation from them, who stated their grievances, claiming that they were not 
receiving sufficient wages to support their families; that they were paid so much a 
trip for lighterage on the supposition that they could always make a certain number 
of trips per day, and so receive a fixed amount. They said, even if they could make 
the number of trips stated — which they generally could not — they would not receive 
enough, considering the fact that, owing to no ships arriving, they could not have 
employment every day. They further stated that the merchants had agreed to increase 
their wages one-half the amount asked, but that was not enough, and, furthermore, 
the merchants had not carried out their agreement and had not raised their wages at 
all. I told them that I had just arrived in town and knew absolutely nothing about 
its affairs, and that until I did know something about them I would not interfere 
except to preserve the peace. They said that it was expected that when the Ameri- 
cans came American wages would prevail over the island. I told them that such 
a change as that would only come with time, and could hardly be made at once. 
I advised them to go to work again, and that if the merchants had agreed to pay 
them higher wages and had failed to keep their agreement, there was cause for com- 
plaint, and I would see the merchants and try and persuade them to carry out their 
agreement. 

Later the chief merchants came to call, and spoke of the strike, and admitted hav- 
ing promised to advance the wages as stated by the workmen. I told them that they 
should certainly live up' to their agreement. They contended that the men could 
make a given number of trips^per day, in which case their wages were high enough. 
After investigation I found that the men were right, and that the merchants were 
wrong, and I so informed the latter. They then carried out their agreement for an 
advance of wages, and the men went to work. There was never another strike while 
I was at Aguadilla, but later on there was some talk on the subject. 

This incident is not much, but it shows one of the things expected from the •Ameri- 
can occupation, which has not been realized. 

Major Benham, U. S. V., after turning over the prisoners, returned to Mayaguez. 
The same day I took charge of the custom-house, and at that time the customs col- 
lector was also internal-revenue collector. I was asked to immediately discharge 
various employees because they had been employed by the Spanish Government. 
This I declined to do until I discovered some good reason for doing so, especially as 
some of them — most all, in fact — were Puerto Ricans, and were acquainted with the 
work of the office, and I had not been in the town twenty-four hours, and knew 
nothing about the office. I never did discharge any of them till by reduction of the 
forces it was necessary to do so, and they all proved themselves very efficient in their 
various positions. . 



300 REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 

The alcalde wanted me to fill some vacancies in the city council, but I told him 
that although I had received no orders on the subject, still I had no intention of 
interfering directly or indirectly, unless absolutely necessary to preserve order, and 
that at any rate I had not been there long enough to know whom to appoint, and 
that if I did appoint any new officials I would not do so until I had found out something 
about them. I further stated that I thought that in time some instructions would be 
received to cover the case, so I disturbed nothing and said I knew nothing of the 
island politics, and would not recognize any political party. I found that the alcalde 
had someone he wanted to put in office, and he asked me to remove the jailer on some 
trivial ground. After investigating I found that the charges were not true, so would 
not remove the jailer without orders from higher authority. The alcalde threatened 
to resign, and I told him that was his own affair, and next day he did so, and although 
he was a very good man for the place I accepted his resignation, and found afterwards 
that he was much surprised because I did so. It had a good effect, however, for the 
other officials dropped politics at once. 

The district commander, it was reported to me, had allowed the council of Ponce 
to elect its own officials and alcalde, and the best citizens of Aguadilla said they would 
like their council to have the same privilege. I told them that I had no orders on 
the subject, but that I had no objection to the council electing its own officers if it 
was in accordance with existing laws, and it appeared that it was. 

The council accordingly elected members of council to fill existing vacancies, and 
then selected a new alcalde. Meantime the American occupation had been com- 
pleted at San Juan in October. After the council's action I sent a list of the city 
officials, including eouncilmen, etc., to the governor-general, and the same day 
received orders to send a list of names of citizens, and for alcalde to fill vacancies. 
The men just elected by the council to fill vacancies and for alcade were among the 
best citizens of the town, so I simply sent a copy of the list previously sent contain- 
ing the names of all those elected by the council, assuming that for that reason, if 
for no other, they would probably be more acceptable than any others I could 
appoint. The list was not accepted, but an order was received appointing an alcalde 
and sufficient number of eouncilmen (none of those recommended) to complete the 
council. When I saw the names in the order I was considerably surprised, and so 
were all the best people of the town. There were included in the list the names, of 
three men who bore unsavory reputations, and whom I had, at the request of mer- 
chants and others, tried to keep out of the council, and I judged that they would 
sooner or later make trouble in the council and out of it, and since then one of them 
has been -killed in a shooting scrape. The new alcalde was an educated man, who 
spoke English and French, as well as Spanish, fluently. Having spent a number of 
years and been educated in New York (six years) and in Paris (nine years) , he was 
supposed to do well in office; but, owing to the character of the council he had to 
deal with, he could do little. However, he did much toward cleaning up the town 
and improving the streets. This was not what the new council wanted. It wanted 
all salaried offices and wanted one of its members — the man afterwards killed — to be 
alcalde in the place of the one appointed, although the latter belonged to the same 
party. 

Then certain measures were to be enacted by which certain planters (of the opposite 
party) were to be mulcted under the name of collecting back taxes by placing an 
embargo on their cane fields. The brother of the man whom it was desired to make 
alcalde was already alcaide of Moca, a town 4 or 5 miles away. Charges had 
already been made against these men, the alcalde of Moca and his brother, the 
member of Aguadilla council, before the arrival of the Americans. The combination 
of these two created trouble at once, especially as the alcalde of Aguadilla and_ the 
minority of the council formed a stumbling block. The people of Moca complained 
until the governor-general ordered an investigation, which required a full month, and 
very clearly established the guilt of the alcalde of Moca in misappropriating the town 
money'. This report of the investigation was duly forwarded in December, 1898, and 
duly pigeonholed by the secretary o£ state, Mr. Rivera. In the interval the alcalde 
of Aguadilla was continually complaining to me about the council, and stating that 
he could do nothing as long as the three objectionable members remained in the 
council. I told him I would not interfere with civil affairs and that he should com- 
plain to the secretary of state. He said "it was of no use," a fact I soon discovered 
to be true. Then the alcalde was directed by the governor-general to have the 
council elect three new members of the council and eject the three objectionable 
members. At the same time he got a private telegram from the secretary of state 
not to put anyone out of the council unless he voluntarily resigned. The alcalde 
then came to me and said he could do nothing, and asked me whether to obey the 
order he got or Mr. Rivera's telegram: I told him there could be no question as to 



REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 301 

which he was to obey, as there was only one governor-general and Mr. Rivera did 
not occupy that position. He said there would be trouble if he carried out orders 
and disobeyed his party leader. I told him that was his lookout. 

At the next meeting of the council he did begin to read the governor-general's 
orders, but it was too late, as I supposed it would be, and at 10 o'clock at night the 
alcalde came to my quarters greatly excited, and stated that the council had put him 
out and elected one of their members (the one referred to before, brother of alcalde 
of Moca) alcalde, and had told him (the legal alcalde) that he had no right to be nor 
authority for being alcalde, and they did not want him anyway. He called on me for 
protection. I told him that unless violence had been offered I could not interfere, 
and furthermore the council had adjourned peaceably and the town was quiet. He 
asked me to telegraph or write the governor-general, but I told him that if he would 
make a complete report in detail of the whole trouble over his signature as alcalde I 
would be glad to forward it for him, but that I thought that under existing orders it 
would be better to telegraph or write to the governor-general directly. This he did, 
giving all particulars. As a result I was ordered on February 1, 1899, to take charge 
of the office of alcalde and appoint a new council, and if necessary appoint a commit- 
tee to investigate the accounts of the city officials. In this connection I will state that 
all the minority members of the council of the opposite party had tried to resign and 
in lieu thereof bad ceased, a month or two before, to attend the meetings of the coun- 
cil, so that they had nothing to do with the high-handed proceedings related above. 
Meantime the alcalde of Moca continued his arbitrary actions and refused to account 
for the town money expended by him, with the result that the citizens were contin- 
ually complaining and requesting his removal. He also had placed an embargo on 
a sugar plantation, stating that he did so to collect back taxes, when in reality it was 
done to collect money to make up his deficiencies. 

The result of this was that the same order that appointed me alcalde of Aguaclilla 
directed me also to depose the alcalde of Moca, take charge of the affairs there, and 
appoint a new council. The order allowed a great deal of latitude, and I realized 
that fact. I went personally to each of the party leaders at Aguadilla and told them 
that to avoid future trouble and in order that the council might work for the good 
of the town, I would like them to each have a meeting of his party and name ten 
members from among the best citizens, so that the council would be composed of an 
equal number from each party. This was done, and then I had a meeting of all the 
new members at my own house, as well as other prominent citizens, and then requested 
each party to make any objection known to the members of the opposite party, stat- 
ing reasons. Then I asked each to drop politics and work for the town, and all agreed 
to do so. At the first meeting of the council I stated that I would in no way inter- 
fere with the city government, but would see that all laws were, executed, in accord- 
ance with my duty as alcalde, and that I did not care to have my presence interfere 
in . any way with free discussion or business of any kind in the council, but that I 
thought that it would be better to drop all political discussions. All agreed to this 
end, and the council worked harmoniously and did good work till, long after I had 
ceased to be alcalde. As alcalde I soon discovered why the treasury was empty, viz, 
partly from the paying of duebills to favored parties, and partly from failing to collect 
all taxes due, and partly from lack of proper system of local taxation. " When the 
treasurer brought me a pile of duebills, varying in amount from $5 to $75, and dating 
back from a few days to six months, I inquired where they came from, and he said 
they were presented in part payment of taxes. Some of them were greater and some 
less than the amount of taxes due from individuals; whenever greater, the parties 
were paid the difference, and where less, the parties were to be credited with the 
amount of the bill. 

After inquiring as to the amount due for salaries to employees, the police, etc., I 
found that none of them had been paid to within three months of that date, and that 
if duebills were paid and accepted for taxes little money would be received for taxes, 
current expenses could not be paid, and more duebills would have to be issued; so 
I directed that for the present no more duebills would be accepted for taxes, and 
that all taxes must be paid in money, and all then due must be paid on or before a 
fixed date, and also that all laws on the subject would be enforced. The effect was 
magical. In a few days there was money enough in the treasury to pay the police up 
'to date and the other employees two months' back salary, besides in addition, to pay 
off several large duebills. Later, I paid the employees another month's salary, and 
afterwards more duebills, this leaving them only the current month in arrears. 

At the end of one month the governor-general directed that the council elect their 
own mayor. I read this order, and the council elected all the subordinate officers but 
no mayor, and requested me to remain in the position longer — for a few months till 
affairs quieted down. I said I could not do so and the council must elect its own alcalde. 



302 REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 

The council put it off quite awhile, but finally elected one of its members alcalde. 
I accepted, of course, no salary while alcalde, and gave what it would have amounted 
to to the two hospitals of the town, and turned over to the new alcalde between 
$2,500 and $3,000 — more than sufficient to pay all expenses of the town for the cur- 
rent month. Everything was working well and so continued for some months, 
till just before I left Aguadilla, when all the employees and "the police complained 
that they had not received their salaries, and some citizens petitioned for the removal 
of the alcalde. 

At Moca the alcalde was deposed by me as ordered, and a new council was 
appointed, and subordinate officers elected in strict accordance with law. Everyone 
except the ex-alcalde expressed himself as satisfied with the change and the elections. 
I told the council that later it could elect an alcalde when notified, and meantime I 
Avould not interfere with the city government. Two weeks afterwards the council 
elected a new alcalde, and everything has been quiet since. 

From the 19th September, 1898, till February, 1899, but particularly in October 
and November, 1898, I was continually called on for protection to various planta- 
tions and other property, particularly in the neighborhood of San Sebastian, Moca, 
and in the vicinity of the Guayataca River, between Ysabela and Quebradillas. A 
great many arrests were made by detachments sent out in connection with civil 
authorities, and many of the .perpetrators of arson, robbery, etc., were afterwards 
sentenced to long terms of imprisonment by the military commission, but many 
others got off because of the suspension of the commission. Could this commission 
have been appointed sooner, so as to make an example at once of a few brigands, all 
crimes of arson, etc., would have ceased much sooner, and thousands of dollars worth 
of property would have been saved. I think at least $800,000 worth of property was 
burned, stolen, and destroyed in the San Sebastian district alone, and it was only by 
ignoring to some extent the orders against leaving detachments at plantations that 
much property was saved. Patrols were little use, because the incendiaries simply 
waited until the patrol had passed, and then burned up the plantation buildings. 

So much destruction of property had a disastrous effect, and up to the present time 
has, in the district of San Sebastian at least, discouraged planters from planting more 
cane, tobacco, or coffee, and rebuilding and refitting their plantations. The recent 
hurricane will add to their discouragement. 

During my stay of ten months in Aguadilla I made a point of observing every- 
thing and as far as possible getting acquainted in every way with the customs and 
habits of the people. I received, as everyone will in such a position, hundreds of 
letters of every sort, to say nothing of petitions and applications of all sorts. _ As often 
as opportunity came I made it a point of reading all the letters, etc., and in case of 
complaints, examining both sides of every case and getting all possible evidence before 
giving a decision. This was new to most of the people, but it was just, and the 
moment everyone realized that fact there was intense satisfaction and no one com- 
plained of my decisions. At first I found, in talking of official affairs, in compliance 
with orders, "that they were not always pleased with what was generally considered 
to be a good order, and I concluded that the trouble must be with the interpreter. 
So after explaining an order one day, and the people concerned said they understood 
it, I went to the office and told the interpreter to write out the order in English just 
as he had interpreted it. Then I saw at once that while the words were there, the 
meaning was not. After that whenever any interpreting was done I required that 
after anything was interpreted the explanation of what it meant should also be inter- 
preted. After that everything went smoothly. I think this is a point that is neg- 
lected by many Americans, and that fact has been the cause of much trouble. A 
simple translation is not sufficient as a rule, but the explanation must follow. This 
failure of officials to make clear the meaning as well as the words of what is said _ in 
orders, etc., intended to benefit the Puerto Ricans has had much more to do with 
delaying progress than would ever be supposed. Even statements made by the Presi- 
dent himself have been so twisted that the meaning understood was totally different 
from what was ever intended. The difficulty alluded to occurs quite as often with 
educated Puerto Ricans as with others, and the re*sult has been that much that was 
expected has not been accomplished since the American occupation. 

During the ten months of my stay at Aguadilla I made it a point of being abso-^ 
lutely just, as far as possible; of making every order received clearly understood, both* 
as to' words and as to meaning, and of making no distinction between parties, and of 
never intruding any of my own religious views or in any way interfering with the 
customs of the people, except when ordered to do so. At first there was some objec- 
tion, because absolute justice is not what some people want, because they don't get 
what they expect always, and because the members of each party wanted things all 
their own way. Great patience was required, but I soon had reason to congratulate 



REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 303 

myself, for the people became satisfied and contented. Other officers have had the 
same results, hut on the other hand .there are officers and other Americans who 
in strong language have announced their dislike for the country and its people, 
have exercised no patience, and made no effort to consider difference of language, 
customs, or anything else; so that in such cases no good has come from the American 
occupation. These cases have been comparatively few, however, and it may be 
again stated that the general effect of the American occupation has been good. 
Many abuses have been corrected and attempts have been made to correct others. 

The people do not yet understand the political freedom of the individual man. 
The freedom to think, to act, to vote, to live, or to belong to any party he chooses 
is not yet understood by the masses, who conduct themselves largely as directed by 
their party leader. Thus I found at Aguadilla that a number of worthy men were 
shut out of employment on the road work because they did not belong to the same 
party as the gang boss, or chief of section, who at the same time asserted that ' ' he 
could get no more workmen." Of course such abuses were corrected when known, 
but then^there must always be many cases where they are not heard of. The same 
thing exists, as it does often, particularly in the smaller towns, where a town council 
won't allow the minority members to have any voice in discussions, and often don't 
want to allow any of the opposite party representation, and threaten to resign in a 
body if a member of the opposite party is appointed or elected to their body, using 
this as a means of gaining their point. When Puerto Ricans begin to understand this 
they will not allow it, but just now one of the parties on the island will not allow 
liberty of action of any kind in such matters. 

For the rest, free trade with the United States was expected and should be allowed. 
If not granted in all things, it should be in some. Flour and rice should be admitted 
free into Puerto Rico, and tobacco and sugar, as well as coffee (now free) , should be 
admitted free into the United States. Practically all the flour comes from the United 
States and all the rice from Germany and England. These articles being free will 
make, or should make, the poor man's living cheaper. Beef cattle are free, and it 
may be that in time it can be added to the food of the poor man in lieu of so much 
codfish. By allowing tobacco free entry into the United States that industry will 
be greatly stimulated and the poorer classes greatly benefited, because tobacco is a 
crop that a man with only one acre of ground can raise a little of and sell. The 
same is true, on a larger scale, of sugar. Both small and large planters will plant 
more and more laborers will be employed on the plantations. Surely our sugar and 
tobacco planters at home can not justly complain of the free entry of tobacco and 
sugar from our own province of Puerto Rico. 

Public works, especially roads, will give employment to many men and make easy 
communication with the interior, now almost impassable in some places. The abol- 
ishment of all forms of monopoly. Monopoly in each class of goods seems always to 
have been the idea of freedom for each of the small interior towns, especially monopoly 
in bread and meat. I found in Aguadilla that one man controlled all the beef sold 
there by paying others a tribute for not selling it. When an order was issued allow- 
ing everyone who chos^e to do so to sell beef after proper inspection, for a while 
beef was cheaper; but the same man simply raised the amount of his tribute paid 
and again controlled all the beef sold there. He controlled the beef market when I 
left there. Of course there was some politics in it, and he got certain privileges, but 
that was not public. There have been several efforts to stop monopoly in beef, bread, 
and other articles of food since the American occupation, but most of them have as 
yet been unsuccessful. 

The island of Puerto Rico is rich and fertile, but has been virtually neglected so 
far as doing anything for the elevation and advancement of the people is concerned, 
with the result that the laboring classes in particular have been oppressed and kept 
in ignorance and without freedom. It will require years of patient work to even 
make a good start in education, not in books alone, but in affairs of business and life . 
at large, according to modern ideas. Yet the people only need the opportunity and 
freedom from the political thraldom of the island politics in order to make an hon- 
est start. They want encouragement in honest and progressive methods by honest 
officials in ah positions, and to feel and know that they are citizens, and that they 
have some voice in the laws made to govern them. They need broadening of views; 
and if some of the people of the island could be given some official employment in 
different parts of the United States, not in the coast cities alone, for a year or two, 
so that they could note the methods of government, excellent results would follow. 
Should free trade be granted, monopoly suppressed, justice be assured by the enforce- 
ment of the habeas corpus act, the tax system be gradually readjusted, a system of 
honest elections established, and the monetary system be permanently fixed, the 
full effect of the American occupation will be known. I have alluded to the power 



304 REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 

of alcaldes of towns, especially in the interior. Each town, no matter what its 
size, has an army of officials, all salaried except the councilmen. Everyone is given 
an office when it is possible to create one, so that there are two or three officials 
where one would be more than sufficient. Under this system, inaugurated by the 
Spanish Government to strengthen its power the people have been educated; and 
as they have been taught no other, they allow it to continue, not knowing how to 
get rid of it and its attendant evil of heavy taxation, usually beyond the power of 
peasants, on whom it mostly falls, to pay in full. 

With low wages and heavy .taxation on all sides and a lack of employment for 
months at a time, what wonder it is that murmurs of dissatisfaction are now and then 
heard and an apparent lunatic (I can not think him sane) , like the editor of such a 
paper as El Combate, of this town, is able to find a wide circulation for his paper. 
The peasants, peons, or laborers, whichever name they go by, are a wonderfully 
cheerful and patient people, and they have been cruelly wronged, yet to-day they 
are squeezed dry, so far as any worldly goods are concerned, with no visible means of 
replenishing their stock at present. The American occupation has helped them some 
by giving them employment at times in various ways. If they can be kept employed 
contentment will reign. 

One of the best effects of the occupation is the lesson of self-government taught by 
the recent elections ordered at different places on the island. With at least one such 
election in each town, supervised by officers under such instructions as will insure abso- 
lute honesty, the effect would be marked. A gradual instruction of the people in 
that way will soon educate them to such a point that they can govern themselves. I 
do not believe the effect of the American occupation has yet reached the point where 
self-government in the full sense of the word can begin. Changes can be made now 
and mistakes corrected, things that can not easily be done later. Conversations with 
Puerto Ricans most interested, whenever opportunity has occurred, and a careful 
observation of all conditions wherever I have been, including frequent visits to inte- 
rior towns, have failed to discover more than a small number of persons, except the 
politicians (chiefly of one party), who want self-government now. Of course all 
want it and should have it later, when the conditions are better. Comparatively 
few fully understand what self-government means. Here it seems to mean all the 
salaried offices with the privilege of manipulating the same. The condition of the 
poor and the taxpayer would remain the same as now, and any progress would be 
very slow. 

The American occupation has given comparative freedom to the press, and above 
all it has separated the state and the church, which was formerly used by the Spanish 
Government as a means of oppressing the people. As stated in another part of this 
report I consider the effect of the American occupation good; that such people 
require a strong or at least a firm government, and that before they are able to hon- 
estly govern themselves in every way they must be educated. I have the greatest 
sympathy in the world for these people, and if after a very intimate acquaintance with 
them for over a year I could say that they were in all particulars fit to govern them- 
selves, I would gladly do so; but I can not at present. Thejt are having all the local 
self-government now that is possible, more by far than they woirld have in most parts 
of the United States. I have alluded to the politicians of the island, because they 
have done about all that has been done to prevent the good effects of the American 
occupation. I have also alluded to the retention in power of the existing officials at 
the time of the occupation, because it is a well-known fact that Mr. Munoz Rivera, 
who was then secretary of state, managed to immediately put his own followers in 
office as alcaldes and councilmen all over the island, without regard to the wishes of 
the different communities, and this fact interfered very much with the good effects 
of the American occupation by creating discord. 

While there may not be much difference between the parties of the island, there 
is enough to know that one of them accepts the American occupation in good faith, 
and makes practically no opposition, while the other, owing to its idol, does. In 
stating that the results would have been different, and better, if American officials 
had been put in office as alcaldes, I did not mean that the local, or municipal gov- 
ernment was to be suspended; I meant that the town councils and other officials 
would continue. In this way politics would have been kept out of the municipal 
governments, which would soon have learned American methods, to a greater or less 
extent, and the personal and bitter side of island politics would have gradually 
disappeared. At least, that was my experience at Aguadilla. Unfortunately the 
American occupation has not, as yet, had such an effect as a whole. 

My own relations, both personal and official with the people, have always been 
very pleasant, and I believe everyone will have the same experience who acts with 
patience, justice, impartiality, and firmness in all things. 



REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 305 

I have barely touched on most subjects mentioned, but I hope sufficiently to 
furnish some of the information desired. 

Very respectfully, Francis W. Mansfield, 

Major, Eleventh Infantry, Collector. 

N. B.— My reference to the officials in power at the time of the occupation has no 
reference to local officials. 

F. W. M. 



Appendix U 5. 

Headquarters Department of Puerto Rico, 

Office of Chief Signal Officer, 

Sail Juan, September 15, 1899. 
Adjutant-General Department of Puerto Rico, 

San Juan, P. R. 
Sir: In compliance with your instructions I have the honor to infold a memoran- 
dum upon the questions submitted to me for examination in the order bearing your 
indorsement of August 21. 
Accompanying this paper are a series of eight maps, as follows : 

1. Waterways and altitudes. 

2. Land communications. 

3. District boundaries used in census. 

4. Density of population. 

5. Location of coffee culture. 

6. Location of cane culture. 

7. Location of tobacco culture. 

8. Precipitation. 
Respectfully submitted. 

W. A. Glassford, 
Major, Signal Corps, U. S. V., Signal Officer. 



Conditions Existing in Puerto Rico upon the Assumption of Control by the 

United States. 

industrial. 

The industries of Puerto Rico are almost wholly agricultural, and consist mainly of 
coffee, sugar and molasses, tobacco, and rum. There is no means of accurately meas- 
uring these industries except in their export values. Coffee is the most important, 
and the quantity exported in 1897 was 23,505 metric tons, valued at 12,223,000 pesos. 
To this must be added the home consumption, which is considerable, as it is said that 
coffee is drank to excess by the population. 

Estimating the home consumption per capita at one and one-half times that of the 
United States, the entire product would amount to 29,580 metric tons, valued at 
15,250,000 pesos. 

Of the quantity exported, only about one-tenth of 1 per cent went to the United 
States. Spain took 29, France 25, Cuba 17, Germany 17, Italy 8, and other countries 
4 per cent. 

In the cultivation and preparation of coffee it is difficult to estimate the number of 
hands employed, as after the coffee is planted its cultivation and the gathering of the 
berries is comparatively light work, which is performed mainly by women and chil- 
dren. It is grown principally in the mountain districts, there "being 122,399 cuerdas 
under cultivation in 1897, and those who cultivate it also raise other Crops, such as 
rice, plantains, yams, etc., for home consumption. 

A map accompanies, compiled from the census of 1897, giving the number of hundred 
cuerdas in each district. 

The next industry of importance is sugar and molasses, which, valued also by their 
exports in the same year, amounted to 4,411,000 pesos. The sugar alone amounted 
to 57,649 metric tons, valued at 4,008,000 pesos. Estimating the home consumption 
per capita at one-third that of the United States, the total production would amount 
to 66,154 metric tons, valued at 4,467,000 pesos. Of the quantity exported, 61 per 
cent was taken by the United States, 31 by Spain, 3 by England and her colonies, 
3 by Denmark and her colonies, and 2 per cent by other countries. 

12558 20 



306 REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 

Cane is grown upon the lowlands around the border of the island. In 1897 there 
were 61,498 cuerdas (1 cuerda = 0.94 acre) under cultivation. This industry, it is 
estimated, employs 30,000 hands, mostly men, who, with their families dependent 
upon them, make an aggregate of 150,000 persons depending upon it wholly or in. 
part for their living. 

A map accompanies, compiled from the census of 1897, giving the number of hun- 
dred cuerdas shown by the numbers placed over the districts where grown. 

In the cane industry there are three products — sugar, molasses, and rum. By the 
process of sugar manufacture at present prevailing the cane produces 8£ per cent 
of its weight in sugar and 3J per cent of its weight in molasses. The molasses 
when distilled, will yield 2 per cent of the cane's weight in rum. That is to say, 
that with every 100 hogsheads of sugar there are 40 hogsheads of molasses, and the 
latter can be converted into 24 hogsheads of rum. The molasses produced in 1897 
would, according to this calculation, amount to 26,451 metric tons, of which 11,529 
tons were exported, 11,087 tons consumed at home, and 3,845 tons converted into 
rum. The rum amounted to 2,310,000 liters, and of wdiich only 310,000 liters were 
exported. The 2,000,000 liters of rum consumed in the island is valued at 6 cents 
(American money) per liter. Its consumption has heretofore been taxed for internal 
revenue only in some places, and that very lightly, amounting to less than 2 cents 
per liter. A tax of 25 cents per liter would, the consumption being the same, pro- 
duce a revenue equal to that of the entire internal taxation as at present levied. 

The tobacco industry is confined almost entirely to the raising of the plant, there 
being 4,264 cuerdas under cultivation in 1897. The plant seems to flourish generally 
over the island, but is found mostly in the highlands. After the plants are once 
started the labor employed is mostly performed by women and children. The 
ground upon which tobacco is cultivated is found for a great part upon hill or moun- 
tain sides and in patches not generally exceeding a few acres. 

Before the American occupation nine-tenths of the tobacco exported went to Cuba, 
where it was manufactured; the remaining tenth was distributed between Spain, the 
United States, and Germany. The total export was valued at 1,194,318 pesos. The 
cultivation of tobacco, as admitted on all hands, is much below the possibilities. If 
the whole of this crop, even as it stands, were manufactured on the island it would 
give employment to many people and greatly increase the profits of this industry 
and stimulate further production. A map showing the hundred cuerdas in tobacco 
accompanies. 

There is a small amount of tobacco, matches, salt, and a few other articles manu- 
factured on the island. 



The land area of Puerto Rico is 3,596 square miles. Of this, 12 per cent is given to 
agriculture, 46 per cent is used as pasture land, 27 per cent is occupied but can not 
be classed as agricultural or pasture lands, and 15 per cent includes towns, rivers, 
roads, etc. Of the total area of the island, 5 per cent is devoted to coffee, 2J to cane, 
and less than two-tenths of 1 per cent to tobacco. 

Of the 438 square miles given to agriculture, 41 per cent is devoted to coffee, 20J 
per cent to sugar, 1J per cent to tobacco; 37 per cent of the remaining agriculture is 
devoted to miscellaneous cultivation, but it must not be inferred that any part of 
this latter class of land is devoted to gardening. There is practically no gardening 
in Puerto Rico. 

The part of the island devoted to fruit is classed as agricultural land, but its culti- 
vation is confined to the first setting of the plant or tree, after which it matures in the 
wild state. This may be illustrated by the fact that there are practically no orange 
or lemon groves in Puerto Rico. 

The foreign trade of the island in 1897 consisted of exports amounting to 18,574,678 
pesos and imports to 17,858,063 pesos. Of the total trade, exports and imports taken 
together, Spain had 33 per cent; United States, 18; Cuba, 12; Germany, England, 
and France, 9 each; Italy, 3; all others, 7 per cent. 

Of the island's products exported in the same year, 65 per cent was of coffee, 22 of 
sugar, 6 of tobacco, and 7 per cent miscellaneous. 

The percentage of duties paid on imports by the different countries was as follows: 
United States, 38; England and colonies, 31; Germany, 17; Spain, 4; France, 2; 
Cuba, one-half; all other countries, 7J per cent. By the above figures it will be 
noted that 38 per cent of the duties on imports was paid by the United States and 
only 4£ per cent by Spain and Cuba. 

While 93 per cent of the exports consisted of coffee, sugar, and tobacco, 50 per cent 
of the imports were food supplies. These were rice, codfish, pork and lard, flour, 
olive oil, canned goods, cheese, garden products, etc. Rice occupies the first place 



REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 307 

and amounted to 35,452 tons, valued at 2,481,631 pesos; codfish follows with 11,244 
tons, valued at 1,461,751 pesos; pork and lard, 4,650 tons, valued at 1,394,935 pesos, 
and flour amounted to 13,852 tons, valued at 969,642 pesos. These figures of importa- 
tions are noteworthy on account of the fact that the island is capable of producing 
the equivalent of many of these articles. For example, the fish might be caught in 
the surrounding waters in which they abound, and the meat raised on the pasture 
lands, which constitute 46 per cent of the area of the island. Of the balance of 
imports, 23 per cent were clothes and material for clothing, and 13 per cent building 
materials, machinery, metals, and paper. 

The land communications of the island consist practically of one military road, 
crossing it from San Juan in the north to Ponce in the south, and one uncompleted 
railroad, at present in three separated sections, which are intended when completed 
to form a road around the coast about the western end of the island, likewise from 
San Juan to Ponce. There are also short railroads from San Juan through Eio Piedras 
to Carolina and from Afiasco to Alto Sano; in all, 241.5 kilometers. 

The great military road is an excellent one; it is wide, well bedded with stone, the 
grades are uniform, and the bridges, which are of stone, brick, or iron, are well con- 
structed. A branch of this road connects Cayey with Guayama, and several shorter 
similar roads are indicated on map submitted showing land communications. 

The statistics of population for 1897, as represented on the map submitted, are 
complete for all districts excepting Toa Alta, Vega Baja, Camuy, and Vieques. For 
the latter the statistics for 1887 are used, and on the map showing the distribution 
of population are marked with an X. The differences between the population in 
1887 and 1897 are not relatively great, 



The first Spanish immigrants to the island of Puerto Rico were principally from 
Southern Spain and were a population of mixed races of the Mediterranean. These 
immigrants, it is said, mixed their blood freely with the native Indians. Following 
this immigration negro slaves from Africa were brought to the island. In the present 
century an immigration of quite a different type of Spaniard to the pioneer element 
set in, both from the American continent and from Europe. They were driven on 
the one hand from the Spanish Main by the wars of independence of the Central and 
South American Republics; on the other many people from the high plains and north 
of Spain, the Balearic and the Canary islands came to better their fortunes in a part 
of Spanish America as yet untouched by the spirit of revolution and independence. 
These elements constitute the main nucleus of the Spanish population in the island 
to-day, and they have maintained a greater purity of race than those who arrived at 
an earlier epoch. They now number about 100,000, and are in the mam the prop- 
erty holders, especially in the cities. The mixture of the early immigrants with the 
aborigines, and these further with the negro blood, produced a race which has. 
always been hostile to the modern Spaniard, and this class constitutes to-day nine- 
tenths of the population. The above classification of the inhabitants indicates at the 
same time to a great extent their social condition. 

The Spaniards are found in the cities and seaport towns upon the plantations as the 
principal proprietors, commercial men, promoters of industry, and form the greatest 
attachment between the island and the rest of civilization. Of the mixed races a 
large majority live in the country districts, and these are called Jibaros and Camesinos. 
These are sometimes called proprietors who cultivate barely sufficient for their sub- 
sistence, and many go from place to place and work upon the plantations. The 
Campesino, like the Indian, is not given to labor; in his resistance to civilization he 
confines his efforts to the strictest necessities. His energy is passive and his health 
suffers in consequence of his narrow regimen. They generally live in structures 
better characterized as shelters than as houses, similar to those used by the primitive 
Indians, their ancestors. These habitations do not, properly speaking, contain any 
furniture. Stools, a crude table, a wide bunk, and sometimes a hammock, in which 
the family sleep, together with a species of guitar, constitute the usual collection of 
interior movables. 

Their clothing is quite in harmony with their shelters, excepting the younger 
children, who frequently grow up without the use of clothes at all. They eat rice, 
plantains, yams, occasionally codfish, and some milk, and upon rare occasions a little 
pork and wheat bread. This limited nourishment is often supplemented by rum, 
which can be obtained at less than 10 cents a quart. 

Many of the inhabitants of the town districts do net differ materially from those in 
the country, but they are generally better clothed and live in better houses, but with 
an equal disregard for sanitation. 



308 REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 

Poorly housed, clothed, and fed, the general health of the inhabitant is consequently 
bad. He suffers much from disease brought about by his mode of living, which is 
plainly shown by his small physical development. The principal diseases prevalent 
are malarial, and digestive diseases, tuberculosis, and syphilis, the latter being wide- 
spread throughout the island. 

Of the total population of the island about 86 per cent are illiterate. 

The character of the Puerto Rican, his indolence, and mode of living, are due to the 
habits and customs of the Indian, Mediterranean, and African races which he repre- 
sents rather than his contact with the European. Since the arrival of the latter he 
has steadily but slowly improved in civilization, and that perhaps in the measure of 
his capabilities. His difficulty is racial. 



The present industrial, economic, and social conditions have not greatly altered 
since the American occupation. 

The markets for the principal industries of the island remain the same except for 
Spain and Cuba, in which countries higher duties now apply. As 46 per cent of the 
coffee went to these countries, Spain taking 29 and Cuba 17, nearly half the market 
for this product is deranged, this being likewise the case with sugar, 31 per cent of 
which went to Spain, and of the tobacco, 90 per cent of which went to Cuba. This 
change has compelled the producer to seek other markets. On the other hand there 
has been a reduction upon imports, especially machinery and agricultural imple- 
ments. The customs revenues of the island have been increased by the payment of 
duties by Spain, and the expenses have been diminished by changing the budget of 
the land and naval forces, the operation of the telegraph, and the salaries of a num- 
ber of insular civil officials to the Government of the United States. The reduction 
of the expenses of the island has likewise been extended by the suppression of the 
clerical budget. 

The fixation of value of Puerto Rican money has been accomplished. 

The only change in the social condition of the island since the American occupa- 
tion is that the Spaniard has lost his" citizenship, and his former influence has been 
transferred to the Puerto Rican. The general social condition of the mass of the 
inhabitants remains as before. The effect of the American occupation in a social 
point of view is not yet apparent. 

ORDERS EFFECTING GOVERNMENT. 

Measures taken in the formation of civil government effecting legislative, execu- 
tive, and judicial functions thereof have been promulgated in orders issued by the 
military government of the island. These orders have been issued in regard to the 
following subjects: 

Concerning the military and civil administration of the island, October 18, 1898; 
abolishing tax on conveyance of property, November 26, 1898; abolishing body 
known as " Diputacion Provincial, " November 29, 1898; revoking exclusive fishing 
privileges in the waters of the island, December 4, 1898; abolishing tax on bread and 
meat industries, December 30, 1898; regulating taxation of lands, January 19, 1899 ; 
directing population to be vaccinated, January 27, 1899; suspending foreclosure of 
mortgages for one year, February 12, 1899; establishing the insular police force, 
February 21, 1899; establishing provisional court, with judicial powers extending to 
cases that would be cognizable by a circuit or district court of the United States, 
June 27, 1899; establishing bureau of state and municipal affairs, bureau of internal 
revenue, bureau of agriculture, civil secretary to the military governor, bureau of 
education, and bureau of public works, August 12, 1899; circular placing sugar- 
making machinery on free list and abolishing tax of $4 per head on castrated oxen, 
August 12, 1899; establishing a supreme court of justice and dividing the island into 
five judicial districts, August 16, 1899; and an order prohibiting dueling, August 24, 
1899. 



REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 



309 



Table showing literacy and illiteracy of population of Puerto Rico by municipalities, 

from incomplete records, Census, 1897. 

[Compiled by Dr. Cayetano Coll y Toste, Civil Secretary.] 



District and municipality. 



Capital (San Juan) . 

Bayamon 

Carolina 

Corozal 

Dorado 

Loiza 

Naranjito 

Rio Grande 

Rio Piedras 

Toa Alta 

Toa Baja 

Drujillo 

Vega Alta 

Vega Baja 



First district. 



Arecibo 

Camuy 

Ciales ' 

Hatillo 

Manati 

Morivas 

Quebradilla 

Utuado 

Barceloneta . 



Second district. 



Aguadilla 

Aguada 

Isabela 

Lares 

Moca 

Rincon 

San Sebastian 



Third district. 



Mayaguez 

Afiasco 

Cabo Rajo 

Sabana Grande . 

Los Marias 

Hormigueros . . . 

Maricao 

San German 

Lajas 



Fourth district. 



Ponce 

Ad juntas 

Aibonito 

Barranquitas 

Barros 

Coamo 

Guajanilla... 
Juana Diaz . . 

Pefiuelos 

Santa Isabel . . 
Yauco 



Fifth district. 



Guayama 

Agvos Bueonas . 

Arroyo 

Caguas 

Cayey 

Cidra 

Gurabo 

Hato Grande . . . 

Juncos 

Comerio 

Salinas 



Sixth district. 



Humacao . 

Ceibo 

Far j ado... 
Luguillo . . 
Manaubo . 
Naguabo.. 
Patillas . . . 
Piedras . . . 
Yabucoa.. 
Vieques. .. 



Seventh district. 



Literate. 



11,696 

1,935 

1,193 

616 

1,300 

650 

893 

1,709 

1,020, 



415 
411 
515 



3,618 



1,306 
824 

1,113 
843 
550 

3,174 

2,122 

4,820 
583 
1,047 
2,304 
3,210 
400 
1,445 

6,660 
1,767 
1,888 
1,373 
464 
468 
1,121 
3,568 
1,137 

8,450 
1,841 

978 

842 
1,111 
2,165 

973 
2,435 
2,100 

681 
2,699 



3,473 

2,522 

1,037 

2,452 

1,772 

648 

743 

3,264 

799 

605 

619 

2,521 
232 
978 
824 
590 

1,014 
744 
516 

1,135 



Illiterate. 



15, 324 
13,111 
10, 257 
9,445 
5,375 
9,456 
6,495 
6,732 
7,601 



3, 589 
3,704 
5,193 



27, 893 



13, 663 
7,981 

10, 981 
9,584 
5, 803 

29, 122 
5,297 

11, 696 
8,488 

11,273 

16, 847 
7,913 
5,996 

13, 399 

23,641 
11, 450 
15, 587 
8,596 
9,984 
2,734 
8,388 
15, 879 
9,234 

31, 992 

16, 170 
5,924 
5,813 
9,333 
9,909 
6,816 

16, 912 
8,958 
3,351 

23, 237 

10, 203 
5, 451 
4,410 
13, 326 
11, 850 
6,535 
7,505 
9,578 
6, 619 
6,620 
4,377 

13, 126 
4,254 
8,730 
6,180 
5,209 
9,652 

10, 825 
6,768 

10, 869 



Total. 



27, 020 

14, 046 

11,450 

10, 061 

6,675 

10, 106 

7,388 

8,441 

8,621 

a 6, 711 

4,004 

4,115 

5,708 

a 5, 427 

31, 511 

a 10, 014 
14, 969 

8,'805 
12, 094 
10, 427 

6,353 
32, 296 

7,419 

16, 516 
9,071 
12, 320 
18, 151 
11, 123 
6,396 
14,844 

30, 301 

13, 217 

17, 475 

9,969 

10,448 

3,202 

9,509 

19,447 

10, 371 

40, 442 
18, 011 

6,902 

6,655 
10,644 
12, 074 

7,789 
19, 347 
11,058 

4,032 
25, 936 

' 13, 676 

7,973 

5,447 

15, 778 

13, 622 

7,183 

8,248 

12, 842 

7,418 

7,225 

4,996 

15,647 
4,486 
9,708 
7,004 
5,799 

10, 666 

11,469 
7,284 

12,004 
a 5, 744 



o Census of 1888. 



310 REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 

Appendix U 6. 

Manati, P. R., September 21, 1899. 
Adjutant-General Department of Puerto Rico, 

San Juan, P. R. 

Sir: (a) I have the honor to report that on November 22, 1898, 1 assumed command of 
the municipalities of Corozal, Morovis, and Ciales, relieving a company of First Ken- 
tucky Mounted Infantry. I immediately placed detachments at Corozal and Morovis 
with headquarters; Troop K, Fifth Cavalry, at Ciales. 

I found at that time, which was very shortly after the transfer of the island from 
the Spanish to the American Government, that this district and especially the munici- 
pality of Ciales, in a very unsettled state, although in each of the towns there was a 
municipal government consisting of an alcalde and twelve councilmen. The unsettled 
condition was due more to the fear of robbers and bandits, and also to the political 
differences of the Spanish and Puerto Rican parties. The men of the command were 
stationed at different plantations and patrols constantly kept moving through the dif- 
ferent parts of the district, which had a tendency to restore confidence in the govern- 
ment. In a very short time and especially after the coffee crop was harvested, quiet 
was restored so far as to become unnecessary to retain the men at the plantations. 
Acts of violence had ceased and a stable government formed, but under the Spanish 
law, business of all kinds was resumed, but a great deal of dissatisfaction was caused 
on account of the municipal officers who were appointed, and removed without cause 
irrespective of which party was in majority, instead of having the offices filled by an 
election. On February 17, 1899, my command moved to this town, taking in the 
municipalities of Barceloneta, Manati, and Vega Baja, and dropping that of Corozal, 
which was annexed to Bayamon. The social conditions of the district have constantly 
improved from a state of almost panic to that of well-regulated municipalities and 
their towns. 

(b) So far as measures have been taken for the formation of civil government for 
the island, in the district, distinct parties have been formed, clubs established where 
men could discuss the affairs of the government. The English language has been 
almost universally studied by the educated class, in order that they can understand 
the American laws. They all seem to be anxious to educate themselves in order to 
understand the American laws and adapt them in order to become competent to gov- 
ern themselves under these laws. 

(c) Had it not been for the storm of August 8, 1899, this district would have and 
has shown a decided improvement over the conditions which existed at the time I 
took command of it. The condition of the planters is that of perfect safety and con- 
fidence, the towns are quiet and well regulated. The condition of the working class 
or "peones" are improving. Up to the date of the storm roads were being built, 
better houses were being constructed, and more ground placed under cultivation. 

Very respectfully, 

H. L. Bishop, 
Captain, Fifth Cavalry, Commanding. 



Appendix U 7. 

Adjuntas, P. R. , September 24, 1899. 
Adjutant-General Department op Puerto Rico. 

Sir: In compliance with instructions from your office dated August 21, 1899, I have 
the honor to submit the following report: 

My service in Puerto Rico has been confined to the mountain districts of Utuado and 
Adjuntas, consequently my opportunity for observation has been very limited. The 
sole industry in the districts mentioned is the growing of coffee. The only resource 
of the peon, or laborer, is the employment given him by the coffee planter. There 
is an excess of labor, the price of which is very cheap, about 30 cents per day, 
usually paid in goods and provisions bought from the proprietor. The state of the 
peon is one of extreme poverty without hope in the future. He is ill-fed and treated 
like a dog. Among this class marriage is the exception, concubinage the rule. 
Perhaps 10 per cent can read and write. We read reports stating that the peon is in 
no clanger of suffering for food, the fruits of the island being ample to sustain him. 
This is nonsense. There is not proper sustenance in the banana and plantain. It is 
estimated that about 75 per cent of the deaths occur from lack of proper food, in 



REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 311 

other words they die from slow starvation. The land is divided among the large and 
small, the latter being but little above the peon class. In the district of Adjuntas, 
containing about 18,000 inhabitants, there are about one thousand land owners. The 
landlords have but little sympathy for their peons, are not inclined to aid them in 
their need, and give but little in charity. They talk fluently of the suffering of the 
poor, but will make no sacrifice to feed the hungry or relieve the sick. The people, 
high and low, are as a rule, looking at them from an Anglo-Saxon standpoint, 
naturally mendacious, and in petty ways, dishonest. They keep no faith I have 
been for the past two months and a half in direct command of the district of Adjuntas, 
the alcalde and council having been deposed. 

I conclude, from my experience, that the municipal government has been extrav- 
agant and corrupt, and believe it will continue to be so if left in the hands of the 
people. Their ideas of honest government are not ours; they must have an object 
lesson in each municipality to teach them. In conclusion, since our occupation of 
the island affairs have, taking all in all, slowly but perceptibly improved. Taxes 
have been reduced and personal liberty secured. A school system has been intro- 
duced which will, no doubt, soon meet the desired end. The late hurricane has put 
matters back and been a great infliction in more ways than one, but time will over- 
come this. . 

Very respectfully, C. H. Watts, 

Captain, Fifth Cavalry, Commanding. 



Appendix U 8. 

San Juan, P. R, August 30, 1899. 
Adjutant-General Department op Puerto Rico. 

Sir: In compliance with orders recently received from your office, I have the honor 
to submit the following notes upon the "Industrial, economic, and social conditions 
existing in the island." 

I shall touch briefly on the most salient facts in the knowledge (superficial, perhaps) 
that I have been able to acquire in the short time I have spent in the country. 

Arriving upon the island on the 17th of April, 1899, I have been stationed one 
month at Las Marias, a mountain hamlet 16 miles inland from the western coast; two 
months in Mayaguez, the third in importance of the cities of the island, and one 
month in San German, a very old town in the midst of a comparatively highly 
enlightened population. I have also had opportunities to travel about the island;, 
over the main military road and as far as Humacao on the eastern coast, including 
the island of Vieques beyond. 

The soil of the island is uniform except in the eastern portion, where the otherwise 
universal limestone is largely replaced by syenite. It is safe to say that what will 
grow anywhere will grow everywhere at the same elevation. Next to the density of 
population, the most striking feature to the observer is the universality of cultivation. 
Except on the rugged mountain El Yunque, and a small government reservation on 
the Cerro Gordo de la Indiera, every foot of soil is cultivated. No slope is too steep 
for coffee; no sequestered nook is too small for a patch of garden stuff. 

The year 1887 lives in the memory of the people of Puerto Rico as the year of the 
inquisition. At that time a great number of respectable citizens were subjected to 
torture by the guardia civil, to secure incriminating testimony against individuals 
doomed to destruction by the government, for alleged complicity in reactionary 
political movements. These barbarities, coupled with summary executions and with 
other forms of persecution familiar in Spanish colonial history, not only gave the 
people of the island a hatred for the existing government but put them in a cringing 
attitude toward all governmental authority. 

The judicial system of the island was not only discredited by the people but was 
in disrepute to such an extent that law was a synonym for injustice. It was taken 
for granted that a judge could always be depended upon to decide a case in favor of 
the highest bidder, and that just so sure as a civil or criminal case arose between 
parties of unequal pecuniary means, the poorer would go to the wall. 

The island was divided into jurisdictions, or small comities, each being dominated 
and controlled by the town or city from which it derived its name. The city with 
its jurisdiction was presided over by an alcalde or mayor, appointed by the central 
government, He was assisted in the government of his district by a large number of 
councillors, supposed to be elected, but in point of fact usually nominated by the 
alcalde. 



312 REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 

The rural part of the jurisdiction was divided into barrios or wards, each of which 
had for chief a sort of subalcalde, called a comisario. As a general thing, the eomis- 
ario was the proprietor of the tienda or general store which marked the focus of the 
barrio, and in many cases he was a member of the council of the jurisdiction. His 
appointment as comisario was made by the alcalde. 

The attitude of the people toward the church was indifference, bordering on hos- 
tility. As a rule, no man attended mass on either Sundays or week days; the dead 
were buried without ceremony, and the sacrament of marriage had fallen into disuse. 
There may have been various causes for this condition of things. Exorbitant fees 
are usually cited as the chief. The example of the priest as well as his fee may have 
had something to do with the general ignoring of the marriage tie. It Was a notice- 
able and significant fact that in time of trouble, when help was needed, the priest 
was the last man to call upon or give heed to his parishioner. Whether a man took 
his wife with or without a wedding ceremony, he showed but a feeble recognition of 
his obligation of fidelity to her, and in general it appeared that he had no intention 
of fulfilling such an obligation should he be tempted otherwise. The effect on the 
women was not good, their customary attitude toward her who had fallen being one 
of envy rather than reproach. 

The chief industries of the island were agricultural, the raising of sugar, coffee, and 
tobacco. The land was chiefly owned in large parcels and the remaining small pro- 
prietors were rapidly diminishing in number, parting with their holdings through 
inability to keep out of debt. The planters, large and small, were in the habit of 
handling their crops through brokers on the credit system, and were in very much 
the same condition as the cotton planters in the Southern States before our civil war. 
The loss of a crop meant ruin. 

The food supply of the people was mainly the product of their native soil, fruits, 
and vegetables; yet the staples, rice and codfish, were the former mainly, the latter 
wholly imported. The average expenditure per day for the food of a laborer's family 
was less than 2 cents, United States money, for each member of the family. The 
laboring man began the day with a mango or banana and a drink of rum, sometimes 
a cup of coffee. By noon his physical powers were exhausted, and any work he tried 
to do after that counted as nothing. The planters in hiring hands, agreed to give per 
day one meal and a stipulated amount of cash, from 25 to 50 centavos, according to 
the kind of work. The meal consisted of rice and plantains, or red beans and cod- 
fish, or some similarly simple fare. The only meat eaten by the peon was the weekly 
morsel bought by him at the Sunday morning market. 

The markets for the standard crops were limited. Cuba took the best tobacco, the 
cheaper grades going to the continent of Europe. Spain took the sugar and molas- 
ses. The coffee found its way to Cuba and through Spain to several continental 
countries. Trade with Spain was so nearly free that the conditions were favorable 
to Puerto Rico, and although the prices of coffee and sugar had fallen low in response 
to competition, there was still a sure market for them. 

After a year of American occupancy the foregoing description still applies to Puerto 
Rico, though with some exceptions. Chief of these is the condition of trade which 
has been completely dislocated without prospect of amelioration, unless a free market 
in the United States can be substituted for that which is lost. There is now no mar- 
ket for the better grade of tobacco. The coffee has an outlet in the United States, 
but the American demand for it has yet to be created. Sugar is more directly than 
ever in competition with the beet root, with a high tariff and a long route to pay 
transportation over. The duty still remains on most of the imports, and unless it be 
speedily removed it is impossible to see any future for. the island. 

Ignoring, however, the peculiar conditions of trade due to the change of govern- 
ment, it is manifest that to secure prosperity there must be a change in the staple 
crops. If prosperity come, it will probably be through tobacco and fruit. Success 
with either will necessitate more enlightened methods of cultivation. Justice is not 
now done the tobacco by the methods of curing and handling, and the cultivation of 
fruit seems not at all understood. This remark also applies to the coffee, the treat- 
ment of this being most crude and unscientific compared with Brazil or Central 
America. 

It is a fact noted by all writers that the proportion of negroes is smaller in Puerto 
Rico than in the other West India Islands. The negro blood is much more in evi- 
dence in the coast towns than in the interior, but it exists everywhere in greater or 
less diffusion. While work was being done on the roads I had occasion to ,watch 
crowds of seven or eight hundred men gathered about the pay tables at Las Marias, 
La Vega, and Anasco. The small proportion of blacks was very noticeable. The 
frequency of the aboriginal type was equally remarked. While it is almost certain 
that there is to-day no single individual in Puerto Rico of pure aboriginal stock, it is 



REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 313 

equally sure that the recurring type can be seen everywhere in the mountain settle- 
ments. At San German I have noticed a woman whose color, hair, and features were 
true Indian as seen in the Southwest of the United States. Unhappily she was hilari- 
ously drunk whenever I happened to meet her. 

Among the natives one is struck by the number of individuals with brown hair, 
light eyes, and fair complexion. I am told that most of these show Basque or Cata- 
lonian origin. The Asturias also contribute fair people. 

At first sight the observer may be deceived in complexions, as the pallor of amende 
malaria is prevalent in all crowds and communities. In the districts, like Cabo Rojo 
and Ponce, whose settlement dates from the time of the buccaneers, the names and 
faces indicate great heterogeneity of blood. French seems a strong infusion in the 
western part of the island, that region having proved attractive to immigrants from 
Corsica during the last quarter century. 

Since the American occupation there has been everywhere a strong influx of St. 
Thomas and St. Croix negroes of both sexes, who have found a little knowledge of 
English a valuable capital in trade. They are chiefly cooks and teamsters, in neither 
of which pursuits they excel, but for neither of which can efficient natives be pro- 
cured. The overpopulation of the island has made the struggle for existence so 
serious as to engender an intense selfishness, apparent in all classes of society. The 
poor man to whom rations have been given by the Government will sell them for 
rum, though his family starve. The planter who is dependent upon the peons for 
the labor of tilling his fields seems, in time of hurricane, to have no sense of respon- 
sibility for them, and instead of welcoming the issue of rations to keep them from 
starving, only deplores the fact that they will then recognize no obligation to work 
cheaply for him in the restoration of his plantation. 

I asked a very competent authority for an opinion in a hypothetical case: Suppose 
such a thing possible as that the people of the United States should send money to 
rebuild the peasants' houses (destroyed by a hurricane) ; if a sum of money were put 
in the hands of a planter for the benefit of the dwellers on his plantation, could he 
be depended on to spend it on their houses? The reply was, "Certainly not; he 
would at once apply it on his own mortgages." 

The system of collecting taxes is somewhat peculiar, and is bitterly complained of 
on account of the abuses to which it gives rise. It is called the system of "apremio," 
or pressure. To the man who pays his taxes promptly on the first call there is nothing 
objectionable in it. Any system of collection is good enough for him provided the 
assessment were equitably made. The hardship comes on him who, through stubborn- 
ness or lack of money, has failed to respond to the demands of the collectors, and these 
demands are certainly made with sufficient frequency to prevent forgetfulness being 
fairly urged as an excuse. After all importunities have failed and the total amount due 
has been swelled by the premium added each time a collector has been obliged to 
call, an embargo is laid on such portion of the property as a legally constituted board 
may select. It may be live stock or it may be a parcel of land. Such embargoed 
property is. sold at auction to cover the sums due, and here is where the alleged 
injustice comes in. It is charged that the alcalde always has friends standing ready 
to bid in the property, and that their desires are controlling in the selection of the 
parcel to be embargoed. The legal method of appointing the board of appraisal does 
give the alcalde an advantage in case his designs be evil. It is also manifest that the 
seizure and sale of a farmer's work oxen, or of his best field, does not add to the 
earning capacity of his farm as against the next tax levy. As the taxes are levied 
four times a year the situation is not hopeful for the small landowner already des- 
perately in debt. There is no doubt the system of assessing and collecting taxes can 
and should be improved, but first must come a reform in municipal government and 
in the method of selecting alcaldes. When that office is made elective there will be 
less ground for holding its incumbent responsible for all the ills that afflict the 
municipality. 

Much land is owned by nonresident Spaniards, who expect enhancement in the 
value of their property through the advent of Americans. Most of the resident land- 
owners are swamped with mortgages at high rates of interest. 

There is constant complaint on the part of small farmers that the richer men get 
their land away from them. The method is something like this : A farmer who owns 
2, 5, or perhaps 10 acres, buys goods on credit of the shopkeeper of his barrio. He 
has little thought of payment so long as he can get the goods, until having incurred a 
debt of 10 or 12 pesos his credit is shut off and payment demanded. An arrange- 
ment is made by which the debt appears as a loan at an exorbitant rate of interest. 
After the original sum has doubled itself thus, and fruitless demands have been made 
for payment, an action is brought in the courts. This is expensive, and the judg- 
ment, covering claim and costs, makes a bill of 100 pesos or over. As of course the 



314 REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 

debtor can make no further resistance, the creditor takes the land and incorporates 
it in his plantation. Shortly after the American occupation there were many incen- 
diary tires which destroyed plantation buildings in some parts of the island, notably 
about San Sebastian. There is evidence to make it appear that some at least of these 
outrages were committed by men who had lost land in this way and harbored a 
grudge against the new owner. The Corsicans, of whom there are a large number 
in the western portion of the island, are said to be especially clever at this method 
of acquiring land. One gentleman who now owns a thousand acres of coffee land, 
and whom I found particularly intelligent upon the affairs of the island, is said to 
make it a rule to lend money (or credit) only to a man who owns land contiguous to 
his own, much of the latter having been thus acquired. 

All of the more intelligent people express the opinion that what is most needed is 
a good banking system, meaning thereby an institution where money can be freely 
borrowed at a reasonable interest ; but there is an American bank in San Juan with 
its vaults full of money ready to loan on sufficient security, and it is evident that 
before loans can be negotiated the existing set of encumbered borrowers must pass 
away and a fresh borrowing class take their places. Meanwhile the current rate of 
interest is 12 per cent, or as much more as can be got. 

The salient characteristics of the general population of Puerto Rico are ignorance, 
poverty, and helplessness. The people supposedly aspiring to be free need to be 
taught many things. They must be shown that the Government is not for the pur- 
pose of taking care of them, but to enable them to take care of themselves. They 
must be brought to realize that they can not be otherwise than poor if, when on the 
occasion of a calamity the Government issues them food, they sit down and refuse to 
work even at the repair of their own houses. Above all, they must be taught to read 
and write, and in a language in which morality and virtue can be denned and 
explained. There is no field so urgently inviting to missionary effort on the part of 
the religious societies of the United States. 

Respectfully submitted. 

W. S. Schuyler, 
Captain, Fifth U. S. Cavalry. 



Appendix IT 9. 

Post of Humacao, P. R., September £3, 1899. 
Adjutant-General, 

Headquarters Department of Puerto Rico. 

Sir: I have the honor to report, in compliance with your reference of August 21, that 
I assumed command of the post and district of Humacao on June 3, 1899. The post 
consisted of my own Troop "0," Fifth Cavalry, Company "K," Eleventh Infantry, 
and a detachment of the Hospital Corps. A detachment of the Signal Corps was pres- 
ent, but not under my command. On June 8 the islands of Culebra and Vieques were 
added to the district, and a detachment of an officer and 15 men of the Eleventh 
Infantry was sent to Vieques. 

The organizations of the command were composed largely of recruits. Detachments 
continued to arrive until both were filled. As much time as possible was given to 
drill and instruction without injuring the health of the troops in the hot weather of 
that time of the year. 

Before the troops had an average of six weeks' instruction, however, the hurricane of 
August 8 caused an entirely new programme to be followed. Under orders from head- 
quarters of the department I sent out noncommissioned officers and men into all the 
outlying districts. Their reports were quite well made and were rendered promptly. 
Relief stations were then stationed at Ceiba, Maguabo, Piedras, Humacao, Humacao 
Playa, Yabucoa, Maunabo, Patillas, and Arroyo. After one issue the stations at 
Ceiba, Patillas, and Arroyo were relieved by other troops. 

The results of the hurricane were worst at Yabucoa, Maunabo and Playa Humacao. 
Those towns were practically destroyed. At Naguabo, Piedras, and Patillas the 
destruction was not half so bad. At Ceiba and Arroyo the amount of loss was lighter 
still, so that the district Maunabo-Yabucoa seems to have been the center of the 
hurricane force. 

I rode over the district shortly after the hurricane. In the fine valleys of Humacao, 
Yabucoa, Maunabo, and Patillas and Arroyo, but two chimneys could be seen. The 
sugar mills seemed ruined. There was hardly more than one good house in 40 miles. 
The huts of the natives, which dotted thickly the sides of all the hills and mountains, 



EEPOET OF BEIGADIEE-GENEBAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 315 

had all gone. Every leaf was blown off the trees. In the towns the people were 
without shelter, many were wounded and not eared for. A sort of apathy seemed to 
possess the people. They had to be forced to work, and even to dig the dead out of 
the ruins at times. About 250 dead were buried in the district. So far about 190,000 
rations have been issued in the district, Much good has been done at the relief 
hospitals at Yabucoa, Maunabo, and Huniacao. 

I am continuing relief work, and expect to reduce the number of rations each week 
until all issue is finally discontinued. This is exceedingly difficult to do, not because 
the numbers of the needy are increasing, but because the people have an idea that all 
have a right to the bounty of the Government. 

A good idea of conditions under the past and present systems and the needs for the 
future can best be shown by a single typical case. A municipality of about 8,000 
inhabitants contains a town of 800 inhabitants. The town contains a half-dozen tax- 
able houses. The country contains several sugar estates, say 2,000 acres of sugar 
land, and some thousand acres of rugged mountains, also used for cultivation and pas- 
tures. On the estates still dwell many of the old slaves, dependent as ever on their 
masters for the work necessary for them to earn a living. In the hills are many 
natives who own small patches of land, enough to pasture a couple of head of stock 
and raise a few sweet potatoes. 

The town has a mayor, secretary, treasurer, doctor, policeman, and all the pomp, 
so far as. the number and dignity of its officials can go, of any well-ordered city. 
There are 28 employees on the roll. 

The tax roll for insular and municipal purposes amounted to 21,000 pesos under 
Spanish rule. Upon American occupation this was reduced to 10,000 pesos. After 
the hurricane the Collection of taxes was very nearly suspended, and a proposition 
was made and adopted to reduce the budget to 3,000 pesos per year, by cutting off 
the salary of the mayor and many others; but even then there seemed to be available 
but 1,500 pesos upon which the town can count. The municipality had previously 
been running behind at the rate of 3,000 pesos per year. 

The taxes were paid at the rate of one-half by one large sugar estate— 10,000 pesos 
under the Spanish rule and at a similar scale under each reduction. There were not 
a dozen taxable houses in the town. Thus it is to be observed that the municipality, 
and to some extent the insular government, was maintained by a tax on land. The 
planters supported the towns and the towns did not support themselves, as in the 
United States. 

There are 15,000 gallons of rum used in a year in that municipality, and a tax of 
20 cents per gallon would run the entire government. The system of taxing the 
vices and luxuries of men has never been followed. 

Among the 8,000 inhabitants there were 64 voters, which included the officeholders 
aforesaid. 

But the owners of the estate which paid the half of the taxes were not voters. 
They were natives and highly educated men, but it was said that they represented 
siruply an undivided estate. 

The simple statement of these conditions in an average piece of country in the 
island of Puerto Rico seems to suggest at once the natural remedies. Tax luxuries 
and permit the producers and employers of labor to cultivate more land and get 
more out of it, Cut off the expensive towns. Reduce the number of officeholders. 
Enlarge the suffrage sufficiently to include every man who can read and write or 
pay taxes. Put the government of those little municipalities in the hands of county 
commissioners, and they will build roads for cheaper traffic instead of keeping up 
the needless extravagance of towns. 

Towns along the coast were located a few miles inland because, it is said, of the 
fear of pirates in the old days. The building of a coast-line railroad will cause most 
of them to disappear. If the railroad should be built at once it would save a great 
deal of money and loss, now that the hurricane has wiped so many towns practically 
out of existence. 

I believe that an erroneous idea exists as to the character of the injury done by 
the hurricane of August 8. It is stated that the crops have been ruined and the 
people will starve unless they are fed until a new crop can be made. It seems that 
the island has never produced its own food, and that the idea that any supplies of 
food were destroyed in sufficient quantity to produce* disaster is a mistake. The 
people have been in the habit of buying food with the money they got in labor on 
sugar and coffee plantations and in other ways. The small crops of potatoes, corn, 
and rice could not cut a large figure, and I can not find great injiiry done them. 
The statement is made that it is cheaper to buy rice from India, beans from the 
United States, and codfish from Nova Scotia than to produce their equivalent here. 

It is also doubtful if food supplies could be successfully raised and kept here where 



316 REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 

they deteriorate and spoil in a couple of months. A farmer can not raise his winter 
supply of food and store it away for years as in the United States. It appears that 
the good effects of distribution of rations is fast reaching its limit, I think that soon 
the issue should be made only to widows, orphans, sick, and paupers, reducing it 90 
per cent, with one exception. I propose that the exception be made in favor of 
planters who have been forced to abandon their crops — coffee, for instance — and are 
therefore unable to employ their peons. On the affidavit of such men I would issue 
rations to the able-bodied men and their families with the understanding that they 
must work and plant, 

The establishment of an efficient insular police is of great service to the island and 
could replace the police of the small towns. 

The guardia civil of the Spanish regime seems to have fulfilled its object well, and 
its rules and regulations, so far as I have been able to learn, would be a good basis for 
the new. The abuses with which that system is credited could be remedied! 

I have had some chance to observe the laboring class, having employed large 
numbers on the roads. My judgment is that not 1 per cent can read and write. 
They are far inferior to the cotton-field hands of the United States. They are weaker 
physically, less ambitious, more shiftless, and idle. The class of intelligent and edu- 
cated people is very small. In my opinion the greatest danger to this country will 
be in the enlargement of the suffrage to include these ignorant classes. 

If that is ever done the white race will have to leave the island or maintain them- 
selves by force, a contest in which the result would be the same as in Santo Domingo 
in the early part of this century. Most of the unfortunate experiences of the United 
States in dealing with the negro race in the South would be repeated. 
Very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

Eben Swift, 
Captain, Fifth Cavalry. 



Appendix U 10. 

Cayey, P. R., September 22, 1899. 
Adjutant-General Department Puerto Rico. 

Sir: In accordance with instructions contained in communication from the Acting 
Secretary of War, dated August 9, 1899, and referred to me by indorsement from 
your office, dated August 21, 1899, I have the honor to submit the following report: 

I have taken no active part in the administration of civil affairs in this district. 
From my arrival at this station I have been careful to leave them entirely in the 
hands of the municipal authorities, confining my efforts entirely to strengthening 
and upholding their authority and occasionally advising them as to the best course 
to pursue whenever any unusual contingency arose. This plan has worked 'admira- 
bly. The civil authorities understand that I will not interfere with or hamper them 
in any way so long as they carry out the laws, and everything has gone as smoothly 
as could be wished. The municipal authorities in a majority of instances seem to be 
honestly trying to carry out what they consider to be the wishes of the central gov- 
ernment. 

To give an accurate statement of the industrial, economic, and social conditions 
existing in the island at the time of assumption of control by the United States is an 
exceedingly difficult undertaking. I have been unable to obtain any accurate written 
or printed data on the subject, and my limited acquaintance with the Spanish lan- 
guage has prevented me making any such thorough persoL al investigation as would 
render the result of any value. 

The industrial and economic condition of the island is just at present undoubtedly 
worse than before the war that led to its acquisition. The markets which formerly 
furnished an outlet for its products were no longer available, and before new ones 
could be secured the hurricane came and destroyed the greater part of the growing 
crops, throwing the laborers out of employment and practically paralyzing the entire 
industrial energies of the island. 

This will, however, be only temporary, and it is generally thought that when 
arrangements can be made for marketing the products of the island in the United 
States and the tariff restrictions on trade are removed or modified, an era of pros- 
perity will set in beyond anything previously known. 

Very respectfully, F. W. Foster, 

Captain, Fifth Cavalry, Commanding Post. 



REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 317 

Appendix U 11. 

Aeecibo, P. R., September 23, 1899. 
Adjutant-General Department op Puerto Rico, 

San Juan, P. R. 
Sir: In compliance with your circular letter of August 21, 1899, regarding a report 
to be made and submitted before the end of September, 1899, to be used by the gen- 
eral commanding in compiling and preparing his report upon insular matters since 
the American occupation, etc., I have the honor to submit the letter herewith. 

I beg to state that my time is so completely occupied in the distribution of relief 
rations that 1 have been unable to study this matter as I should have liked. 
Very respectfully, 

A. C. Macomb, 
Captain, Fifth Cavalry, Commanding Post of Arecibo. 



The armed forces of the United States made a landing at Guanica, on the western 
part of the south coast of Puerto Rico, in July, 1898. This was followed by other 
landings at Ponce and Arroyo, also on the south coast, early in August. 

Columns of troops were promptly organized and marched against the enemy, the 
general plan being to sweep the enemy toward the north coast, centering them at 
San Juan, such detachments as refused to retreat being taken in reverse and captured. 
The plan worked admirably, and was only stopped by the armistice of August 13, 
1898. 

It naturally resulted from the movements of the United States forces from the 
south coast that the southern half of the island first fell under the observation and 
occupation of the United States. This military occupation was promptly extended 
after the cession of the island to the northern half of the island, Arecibo and the 
country west as far as Isabela being occupied by the Sixth Massachusetts Volunteers 
in September, 1898. This force was relieved by the Sixth United States Volunteers 
in October, 1898, which also detached companies to Utuado, Lares, Barceloneta, and 
Manati. 

Troop A, Fifth Cavalry, being at Las Marias at the close of hostilities, after making 
a forced march to Lares, returned to Las Marias and took station there until the mid- 
dle of October, 1898, when it moved via Mayaguez, Aguadilla, and Quebradillas to 
Camuy. It remained at Camuy until February 13, 1899, when its station was 
changed to Arecibo upon the relief and return to the United States of the Sixth 
United States Volunteers. No records of any kind were left at this post by that 
regiment other than a number of unpaid bills. 

The observations of the writer extend from Ponce via Yauco, Hormigueros, and 
Mayaguez to Las Marias and Lares, and afterwards to the entire north coast west of 
Barceloneta. 

industrial conditions. 

_ In August, 1898, from fear of war, business was at a standstill. Upon the conclu- 
sion of hostilities, a vicious attempt was made by the Puerto Ricans to drive from the 
island such Spanish proprietors and Spanish sympathizers as had made themselves 
obnoxious in the past to the natives. The means employed were threatening letters 
and arson, and more rarely personal violence. It was apparently assumed that the 
United States authorities would be tacitly in accord with such a movement. After 
an unnecessary delay efforts were made by the military authorities to put a stop to 
the numerous outrages. Many arrests were made and a few persons shot who were 
caught in the act of robbing and burning dwelling houses. 

This disturbance lasted from the middle of September, 1898, to some time in 
November of that year. Evidently the movement was an organized one, and its 
headquarters were in Mayaguez. Its results were the destruction by fire and theft 
of some $5,000,000, the abandonment of the island by a small number of Spaniards, 
and in the instillation into the midst of the Spaniards remaining that neither them- 
selves nor their property would receive full protection under the new order of things. 
This movement materially prevented planting and, in many cases, garnering of crops 
already ripened. 

LABOR. 

The labor of the island is performed by peons— generally men— who work for 50 
centavos (30 cents gold) per day, with a breakfast added, this pay -is for a full clay's 



318 REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 

work only, and does not accrue on days of nonlabor, such as holidays, or on days of 
heavy rains. The payment is nearly always made in orders on the ' ' store ' ' in the 
hands of the proprietor, at which prices fully 25 per cent greater are charged than in 
the retail stores of the town. Generally the laborers have families of five persons or 
more. They subsist in a great measure on the natural fruits of the country. Their 
blood, from inherited tendencies, augmented by the mild enervating climate and 
insufficient food, is poor, and amemia is a common condition. Ignorance is most 
prevalent, due to the small number of schools of a poor order and the difficulty of 
reaching them. Marriage has been interfered with by the expense attendant. 



The money of the island upon the entrance of the United States forces consisted of 
some 6,000,000 pesos and subsidiary coins of 40, 20, 10 and 5 centavos in silver and 
copper coins of 2 and 1 centavo values. Besides these coins there were in circulation 
certain bank notes of denominations running from 50 pesos to 1. The silver in these 
pesos is a debased metal, and each peso has an actual mint value of not over 40 cents 
gold. The exchange for the United States dollar has varied from 2.35 in August, 1898, 
to as low as 1.50 in January, 1899. Soon after this period an order was received from 
the President making the peso a legal tender for 60 cents in payment of custom-house 
dues and in other Government transactions. 

It is customary to state in censuses that the white race largely exceeds the black on 
the island, but it is not true. The negro slave was introduced into the island early 
in the seventeenth century, and the ignorant and debased peon has largely inter- 
married and mixed with the negro. To-day a very large percentage of the population 
has a strain of colored blood. This is evidenced by characteristic signs, customs, and 
manners, though by no means generally admitted. 



The island is a continuation of the great Antillean uplift, whose line is marked by 
the islands of Cuba, Santo Domingo, Puerto Rico, and St. Thomas. These islands 
are the tops of a submerged mountain range. The northern declivity of this moun- 
tain range descends into the Atlantic a short distance north of the island to a depth 
of 30,000 feet. The island itself is very mountainous, though nowhere exhibiting a 
greater elevation than a scant 4,000 feet above the sea; this in the Pico del Yunque. 
The island may be considered as a jumble of irregular hills with a rim of coast plains. 
These hills in the interior are of granite more or less dislocated and made often of 
water-sorted rock, encircled near the coast by more recent limestone deposits. The coast 
cultivation is usually cane where low and wet and tobacco and sweet potatoes where 
drier and more sandy. The coffee is confined to the slopes of the interior and does 
best on the deep red soil formed from the breaking down of mountain rock. Citric 
fruits do very well through the entire island, but seem to prefer a richer and less 
sandy soil than is used for this class of cultivation in the United States. 

The rainfall is abundant, especially in the interior, where the mountains are bathed 
in daily mists. The coast presents but few indentations sufficiently large and deep for 
harbors of importance, that at Jabos, on the south coast, being the only one of the first 
class. All other harbors are unsafe unless artificially improved. 

The shape of the island is that of a parallelogram, some 100 miles long by 40 broad. 

The roads of the island are, as might be expected in a mountain country which has 
a heavy rainfall, bad and frequently impassable. The only way to make them good is 
to make them very good, which involves much expense, though labor, such as it is, is 
cheap. 

Without going into details, it may be said that this island, when the United States 
forces entered it, was an appendage of Spain, governed by laws possibly not in them- 
selves bad, but so administered as to reach the same result as the most evil laws. The 
island was run with a short sighted view to Spain's aggrandizement, or, more prop- 
erly speaking, to that of a few Spanish officers. 

"Justice" was purchaseable. Public office was anything but a public trust. Its 
officials, with certain exceptions, were practiced in deceit and dishonesty ; its people, 
though gentle, most ignorant. Sanitary laws as known in the United States are a 
sreat blank here. 

The Spanish army, which represented the power that had held the island for over 
four hundred years, was disliked everywhere and retreated through the island a very 
Ishmaelite, every man's hand raised against it. No stronger proof can be given than 
this of the badness of the Spanish system. The army was only the power to make the 



REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 319 

enforcement of evil laws or the evil enforcement of good laws possible. It repre- 
sented cruelty and tyranny, false politeness and dishonesty. 

To speak of the Spaniard as found in Puerto Rico some might call him "the man 
without a toothbrush;" "the gentleman who eats garlic and doesn't wash;" "the 
man with the dirty conscience and the clean shirt;" "with bloody hands and a 
white heart." 

This island, with its rich soil and climate of heaven, under any fair government 
should furnish abundant wealth and comfort to a large and contented population. 
But through Spanish mismanagement it has a large population (of which a large 
percentage is illegitimate) continually bordering on famine, miserably fed and mis- 
erably educated. What the island needs is education and then more education. 

As the American forces approached the various towns in the occupation, the 
alcaldes of the Spanish regime generally resigned and were replaced by appointees 
selected in most cases by the Liberal party leaders in San Juan. Elections according 
to the American system will very soon replace the appointee system. 

Every attempt has been made in orders and in practice to permit the alcaldes or 

mayors to govern their districts without interference from the military powers. One 

great difficulty has been to secure honest, trustworthy officers who, after being 

appointed to office, were willing to become administrators of law and justice, not to 

-the members of their own party only, but to all parties. 

Since the military occupation the post-office system of the United States has been 
introduced. 

The school system, without proper buildings, books, or teachers, is advancing 
slowly. 

The religion remains Catholic in form, but churchgoing is not generally observed. 

The people have learned to trust the military officers and come to them with all 
grievances. 

The United States is honored and looked up to by these people. 

A provisional United States court has been incorporated and has been a shining 
Sight of justice and honesty. 

District courts have been established, but as the judges are Puerto Ricans and as 
they were brought up and educated in the Spanish school an American's faith in 
them may be faint. 

Under General Henry, the cry for work being strong and the improvement of 
roads being needed, roads in all pails of the island were worked and in many cases 
improved ; but no particular system was followed, and for the money expended 
poor results were obtained. Nevertheless a large amount of money was disbursed to 
the poor. 

The mapping and charting of the coast has been inaugurated and pursued, result- 
ing in fine maps of the harbors of San Juan and Ponce and the coast adjacent. A 
reliable map of the island is much needed, and some work has been done upon one. 

The cleansing of San Juan and the keeping of it clean has been rigorously pushed 
and has been an object lesson to the people. 

Sanitary plumbing has in some cases been introduced in San Juan, Mayaguez, and 
Ponce. 

Important economies in the administration of the island government have been 
introduced, methods of business simplified; but any decided advance in the direction 
of the betterment of the island has been rendered impossible by the deplorable finan- 
cial condition due to the war which has cut the country from Spanish leading strings, 
and as yet substituted no other commercial parent. The Spanish ports are now alien 
and the American ports are not yet open. . The laws remain Spanish to a great extent. 

The island commerce, ruined by the chilling hand of war, having had no oppor- 
tunity to recover under a new guardian, still languishes. 

The island, though United States territory, is commercially foreign soil. l\ew busi- 
ness connections with the United States are slowly formed under the present tariff 
conditions. 

The island lacks new markets for its crops and has lost the old ones with Spam. 
The country is in a most depressed financial condition — crop planting is therefore not 
pushed and labor is scarce. The landowners, the merchants, and the laborers all 
suffer. The great swing and advance toward better things that might have followed 
an American occupation has not come. The country to-day is poorer than before the 
occupation. 

In this condition of poverty and lack of surplus stores the island was on August 8, 
1899, struck by a hurricane, follow by a disastrous rain. The rivers rose and the 
mountains fell. The rich growing crop was destroyed and hunger took possession. 

To-day the army is spending its time in the distribution of rations generously fur- 
nished by the people of the United States. 



320 REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 

But the American occupation has shown the island the value of honest methods 
and the good intentions of the United States. It will bring forth good fruit. 

A. C. Macomb, 
Captain, Fifth Cavalry, commanding Arecibo. 



Appendix U 12. 

Post of Lares, P. R. , September 18, 1899. 
Adjutant-General Department of Puerto Rico, 

San Juan, P. JR. 

Sir: In compliance with circular letter of August 21, 1 have the honor to make the 
following report: 

The district of Lares is in the northwest interior and is a very mountainous region. 
Almost the sole industry is coffee raising. Formerly the price realized from coffee 
gave a handsome profit, but of late years the price has steadily fallen and the indus- 
trial condition of the community has retrograded accordingly. In 1898 the Spanish- 
American war upset financial and industrial conditions, causing still further impover- 
ishment, and this year, with its most destructive hurricane, has completed the ruin 
of all but a few of the richer planters. As coffee lands are not so readily converted 
for raising other crops, as with most others, these planters are very much at a disad- 
vantage in retrieving their misfortunes. 

In consequence of this general impoverishment municipal taxes are much in arrears, 
and it is becoming a serious question as to how the local governments are to be carried 
on with an entire lack of funds. 

The peon class, usually supported by labor on the coffee plantations, is now thrown 
out of work and has to be fed with relief supplies — amounting to about half the 
population. 

The social conditions are bad, resulting from a lack of proper educational privi- 
leges and loose morals encouraged by the mercenary priestly class, who have made 
regular and legal marriages a luxury that could be afforded only by the rich or well- 
to-do. 

The occupation by the United States is of too recent a date to have yet caused 
much change in these conditions, though steps in the proper direction are being 
taken. 

Very respectfully, Harry R. Lee, 

Captain, Eleventh U. S. Infantry, Commanding. 



Appendix U 13. 

Aguadilla, P. R., September 20, 1899. 
Adjutant-General Department of Puerto Rico 

San Juan, P. R. 

Sir: In compliance with instructions from your office, dated Headquarters Depart- 
ment of Puerto Rico, San Juan, August 21, 1899, I have the honor to submit the 
following report embracing the following subjects: 

"(Ci) A review of the industrial, economic, and social conditions existing in the 
island upon the assumption of control by the United States. 

"(b) A detailed statement of the measures and steps taken in the formation of civil 
government for the island and its several provinces and districts. 

"(c) A resume of the present industrial, economic, and social conditions, showing 
the net results of American occupation." 

When the American forces landed on this island they found the country suffering 
with the results of four hundred years of misrule, oppression, and ignorance — igno- 
rance so great, especially among the lower classes, as 'to be almost incredible. A more 
perfect system of oppression, where the masses were subject to the will of the few, it 
is difficult to conceive, and the length of time necessary to entirely wipe out the 
effects of this system remains to be seen. Unquestionably it will take many years, 
and whether it is possible ever to instill true American instincts and truly Americanize 
a people other than Anglo-Saxon also remains to be seen. 

The people may be divided into two classes, the ' ' upper ' ' and the ' ' lower. ' ' The 
upper class comprise the Spaniards and the more educated Puerto Ricans. The 
lower, or as they are more commonly termed, the peons, are composed almost 



REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 321 

entirely of the negroes and mixed breeds. These mixed breeds, which mixture is 
Spanish, negro, and Indian, form the masses of the people and comprise at least 
three-fourths of the population. The lower classes are the ones on which Spanish 
oppression has so greatly told. As I have said before, their ignorance is so great as 
to be hard to conceive, and they are totally incapable of thinking for themselves. 
They are governed entirely by the will of their employers, for whom they are little 
more than slaves. Contrary to American ideas, instead of doing everything possible 
to encourage universal education, everything possible was done by those in power to 
discourage it. The result is that out of an entire population of 800,000 only about 15 
per cent are able to read and write. The school system was little more than a farce. 
They did have some kind of a system of public schools which were supposed to have 
been supported by the municipal government, but the teachers were totally incapa- 
ble, and it seemed a matter of perfect indifference to the parents whether the chil- 
dren attended school or not. These schools were free to those unable to pay, but 
those that were able to pay were required to do so. 

To illustrate the incapacity of the teachers, at an examination of teachers held at 
San Juan not many months ago, out of several hundred applicants I think only two 
or three passed the required examination. It was impossible ta get even a high-school 
education at any school on the island, and any native who pretends to be educated 
received his education either in Europe or the United States. ; 

The object of the Spanish Government seems to have been to get all they could out 
of the people and to do nothing for their advancement and enlightenment, and not 
only that, but to throw every obstacle in the way of advancement. It was to their 
interest to keep the people in ignorance. 

The upper class comprises the professional men, the merchants, and the planters. 
Sugar and coffee are the chief products, and these plantations are scattered over 
nearly the entire island. The number of peons employed on one of these planta- 
tions varies from 25 or 30 up to 500 or 600. As I have said before, these men literally 
belonged to their employers and were governed by them in all things. They had 
such a system that it was almost impossible for a workingman to quit his employer 
even should he desire to do so. These peons receive about 30 cents per day, provin- 
cial money, and on this amount they in some cases support a family of six or eight 
persons. This is made possible on account of the very small amount on which a 
person is able to exist on this island. Their principal food is fruit, and owing to the 
abundance of fruit they are able to procure it with little or no money. Meat is 
almost entirely unknown to them, and the want of a proper meat diet is the cause of 
the great amount of ansemia which is found in all parts of the island. 

As the peon is bound to his master, so the planter is under obligations to the mer- 
chant. Rich as these plantations are, or should be, hardly any of them are free of 
debt or mortgage. This is due to the want of a proper banking system. The mer- 
chants are, in fact, the bankers. The planter wanting a sufficient amount of money 
with which to carry on his business, goes to the merchant to borrow it. The mer- 
chant lets him have it at an enormous rate of interest, and, to make himself safe, 
takes a mortgage on the crop. Hence, .the planter is naturally forced to sell his crop 
to this particular merchant, at whatever price the latter sees fit to give, and the out- 
come is, the planter is lucky if his crop is sufficient to liquidate his obligations. This 
state of affairs has been going on for years and years, the only result being to make 
the merchants richer and to give employment to the peons, while the condition of 
the planters remains unchanged. Had there been a proper banking system the 
planter could have gone to the bank for the necessary money, which he could have 
borrowed at a reasonable rate of interest, and when his crop matured he would have 
been able to sell it for the highest price or, better still, have shipped it himself to 
foreign markets. Why these planters, who seem to be the most intelligent people 
on the island, have submitted to such a system for so many years is only one of the 
many unaccountable conditions of affairs existing in this country. 

The government of the island was vested in the Governor-General as executive, 
the only legislative body being the Spanish Cortes. The island is divided into seven 
districts, which were simply military and judicial divisions. The judicial branch of 
the government consisted of three courts of audiencia, located at San Juan, Ponce, and 
Mayagiiez, and a primary court in each district. These courts were appointed by 
the Governor-General. The primary court consisted simply of a criminal judge, and 
it was his duty to investigate all cases in his district, and the less important cases he 
was authorized to try and sentence. The more important cases were sent to the 
nearest court of audiencia for trial. In case an appeal was taken from either of the 
courts at Ponce or Mayaguez it was sent to the court of audiencia at San Juan, which 
court was the highest in the island. It was also possible to appeal from this court to 
the supreme court at Madrid. 

12558 21 



322 REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 

The districts of the island were again subdivided into municipal jurisdictions, whose 
executives were the alcaldes of the towns, the legislative bodies being the town 
councils. There was also a municipal judge, whose duty it was to investigate all cases 
occurring in his municipality, and the least important he was capable of trying. The 
other cases were sent to the primary court, which investigated them and either tried 
them or sentthem before the court of audiencia. The alcalde and city council were 
elected by the people, and I think these were the only officers who were elected by 
the people. 

At a first glance, considering the seeming unimportance of these offices, it would 
seem strange that there existed such bitter rivalry for their possession. But this is 
easily accounted for when we take into consideration that from the Spanish system 
of government the people considered the office as made for the man and not the man 
for the office. It appeared to be the right of the officeholder to use his position in 
every way for his own personal gain. No wonder, then, that the struggle for the pos- 
session of these offices was the cause of the bitterest enmity; and truly politics is not 
one of the least curses of this unfortuuate island. 

Subject to the approval of the Governor-General, the city council made all laws 
for its municipality and fixed all municipal taxes. These taxes, while great — out of 
all proportion (especially on certain necessary articles of food, as bread and meat, 
while on such articles as liquors and tobacco they were insignificant) — and should 
have given the treasury a surplus of funds, still it seems to have been impossible to 
collect them promptly; and there being no check on the disbursement of those that 
were collected, it was seldom any money at all was found in the treasury. Another 
cause of this deficit was the paying in of due bills. These were papers given by a 
school teacher or other employee or ex employee for pay due or for house rent due 
from the city to someone else for a consideration less than the amount called for by 
the duebill. These duebills were presented in payment of taxes, with the result that 
instead of the necessary money coming into the treasury the treasury was filled up 
with these worthless duebills. 

The city employees were paid at very irregular intervals, often going for months 
without a cent other than what they were able to obtain on these duebills. It was 
impossible for the municipal government to be at all satisfactory or just owing to the 
great rivalry between the two political parties. Those in power favored only their 
friends, while everything possible was done to injure their political enemies. On the 
other hand, the defeated party did all they could to annoy and give trouble to those 
in power. This state of affairs is now continually giving trouble, and will continue 
to do so until the present political parties die out altogether. Another great abuse 
of this power was the system by which a favored person could imprison his personal 
enemies on trumped-up charges. When the Americans took possession of the island 
all the jails were found crowded with prisoners, some of whom had been confined 
for great lengths of time, with only the most trivial charges against them. They had 
never been given any kind of trial, and from all indications there appeared to be no 
prospect of their ever being brought to trial. There were a number of cases where 
men had been confined for many months,»when even if they had been convicted 
of the charges against them the limit of the punishment was only a few days' 
confinement. 

The result of all this on the people has been to make them unambitious, deceitful, 
and dishonest. A more helpless and worthless set of people it is hard to imagine. In 
my opinion they are far inferior to our Southern negroes, and but little, if any, better 
than our Indians. They certainly have all their vices, with none of their virtues. 

After the hurricane of August 8, instead of going to work and trying to help them- 
selves they made no effort whatever to do anything, but simply sat down and specu- 
lated on how much the government was going to do for them. A great many of 
them, for fear they would not receive the full benefit of the government's charity, 
made no attempt to repair their houses, but continued to live in them as they were 
left by the storm. They also look upon the help they are receiving as their right 
and as a matter of course, and they are totally devoid of anything approaching grati- 
tude. They even go so far as to complain of the kind of food they are getting, and 
demand, and even expect to get, what they wish. The people themselves, and even 
those in authority — the local boards of charity and alcaldes — thought it a great hard- 
ship when the able-bodied men were required to work for what rations they received, 
notwithstanding the fact that the work is being done on the towns and they are the 
ones who are receiving the benefit of it. The sudden change from the most grinding 
oppression to absolute freedom has been too much for them, and they expect entirely 
too much. 

I merely mention this to give some idea of the character and disposition of the 
people. To make any material changes in the present generation is, I think, a hope- 
less task. They are certainly not capable of self-government, and in my opinion it 



REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 323 

is a question of many years before they will be. Only by the most liberal system of 
education applied to the coming generation, with a thorough introduction of Amer- 
ican ideas, can we hope for any beneficial results. The people naturally are a very 
restless and turbulent race, always jeady and eager to engage in any plunder and 
excitement that may be proposed by anyone who for the moment has succeeded in 
catching their ears. 

One of the worst nuisances the Americans had to deal with immediately after taking 
possession of the island was the plunder and burning all over the country by these 
people, who seemed to have no object whatever in doing this, but simply did it on 
account of the unsettled condition of affairs at the time. They are very easily led by 
anyone who is able to attract their attention, and the person who has succeeded in 
doing this can get them to believe anything he wishes to tell them, and can do with 
them whatever he pleases. They have no ideas or opinions of their own and have 
never been taught to think for themselves. It has been said that they will do every- 
thing in their power to elevate a popular idol to the highest position, and once he 
has reached that position will do everything possible to pull him down again. It is 
all due to their restlessness and desire for change. 

The mode of life among the lower classes is very low indeed, being not a great deal 
better than savages and corresponding in many respects to that of our Indians. Their 
houses are made of anything they can get to piece together — principally palm leaves — 
and it is a very common sight to see six or eight persons, or even more, living in a 
little hut scarcely large enough for two. There can be no privacy in such an arrange- 
ment, and consequently the scale of morality is very low. It is another common sight 
to see any number of children, some 8 or 9 years old, running naked on the streets. 
But the most noticeable feature of all was the total lack of any sanitary arrangements 
whatever. In anything that was done this seems never to have been considered at 
all. When the Americans took possession the accumulation of filth and dirt in the 
towns was simply beyond description, and the only wonder is that disease and epi- 
demics were so few. 

To give the net results of the American occupation in detail is difficult at this time, 
as the time has been too short to make prominent the results of the changes wrought 
by the Americans. That there has been a general change for the better is apparent, 
and the people, who Were at first slow to realize this change, are now beginning to 
realize it and to believe that the coming of the Americans will be for their good. 
Every effort has been made and is being made to let the people know that the days 
of oppression are over — that they are free — and that everything gained by their per- 
sonal efforts will be to their own credit and benefit and not for the benefit of some- 
one else. 

As yet no great changes have been made in the civil code of laws, as the country 
is not yet ripe for any radical changes. These must come about gradually. 

The absurd and unjust taxes on certain necessary articles, as meat, bread, etc., 
have been repealed, while a proper license has been placed on the sale of liquors and 
tobacco. 

The primary court has been done away with and a federal court, composed 
entirely of army officers, has b een established for the trial of the more important 
cases. Also, another court, composed of natives, which corresponds to our circuit 
court in the States, has recently been established. 

One of the most noticeable changes is the sanitary improvements of the island. 
The towns have been cleaned up, and as far as the present facilities will allow, it is 
required that they be kept clean. The prisons all over the island have been reno- 
vated, and numbers of prisoners unjustly confined have been released. 

The school system is being revised and has already been greatly improved. There 
is an American supervisor of schools in each district, and the children, to a greater 
extent, are required to attend school. There are also a number of American teachers 
on the island. 

The roads have been greatly improved, although much yet remains to be done in 
this direction. Last spring, I think, nearly half a million dollars was spent on this 
work, and several thousand men were employed. These men were mostly those 
who had no other employment; hence, not only a large amount of money was dis- 
tributed, but it went to those who most needed it. 

The municipal government has been little changed, but it is under the immediate 
eye of the commanding officers, and any irregularities are quickly rectified. In some 
towns it has been found necessary to put in military officers as alcaldes for short 
lengths of time, owing to the bitter rivalry of the two political parties, but these 
instances have been very few. 

Take it all in all, the American occupation has been all it should be, and the 
improvements and changes for the better have been many and great. However, 
there remains much to be done, and, as I said in the beginning of "this report, to do 



324 REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 

it will take many years of hard work and constant attention. In any case, the civil 
part of this work should be given to civilians or to officers specially detailed for the 
purpose. 

During the last year every officer on this island has been overtaxed with work, 
and from their constant intermingling with civil affairs they have almost entirely 
lost their identity as military persons, and their military duties have greatly suffered 
in consequence. Of course, I realize that the officers can and will do this work, prob- 
ably better than civilians, but there is a limit even to an army officer's endurance. 

In closing this report, I wish to state that, owing to the very limited time I have 
had to prepare it, there are a great many details and facts that have been omitted. 
What has been stated is, almost entirely, from my own personal observations, cover- 
ing the period since the landing of the Americans. 
Very respectfully, 

Seaborn G. Chiles, 
First Lieutenant, Eleventh Infantry, Commanding. 



Appendix U 14. 

San German, P. R., September 7, 1899. 
Adjutant General Department of Puerto Rico. 

Sir: Pursuant to letter of instructions from your office dated August 21, 1899, I 
have the honor to make the following report: 

As I have only been here three days I do not feel qualified to make an elaborate 
report on the social and economic conditions of this locality. 

What the industrial conditions might have been I am not able to say, but what 
they now are I know. 

They could not possibly be worse. All the laboring class depend upon the plant- 
ers for labor. As the coffee and sugar planters are ruined by the recent hurricane, 
they have no work to give. It seems that most plantations were mortgaged for pretty 
much their full value at the time of the American occupation, so that now money 
lenders will lend no more money on them. As the planters are unable to borrow 
money to restart their plantations they are unable to employ labor. I do not believe 
the social conditions have changed any. I do not believe anybody has taken the 
trouble to get married who were formerly living together as common-law man and 
wife. In a word, social conditions existing for hundreds of years can not be changed 
by order. It will take several generations to change such conditions. Economy is 
now forced upon everybody. 

The entire people are entirely ignorant of cooking wheat flour in any way and the 
art of baking is unknown, the city bakery having the monopoly of the bread-baking 
industry of the whole island. The people could be taught to do their own baking, 
as do the Mexicans. 

I can not see that the American occupation has as yet done anything to improve 
this people. Improvement will come only when this island is treated as any of our 
western Territories are and given absolutely free interstate commerce. 

Taxation seems now to be unjust, as all personal property is exempt. A wealthy 
planter pays no taxes on his horses and carriage, which the city hackman does. 

All merchants must have a license to conduct business, which is a restriction on 
business. Liquor dealers pay the same license as merchants of corresponding grade. 

In the present system of assessment and collection of taxes the alcaldes seem to 
have it within their power to oppress delinquents or to extend to their friends the 
benefits derived from a noncollection. 

I would recommend a tax on what is produced, allowing certain proportions to 
remain in the barrio or district where it is produced. This would put money in 
local treasuries that are now entirely bankrupt. The sources of revenue in cities 
under American occupation are entirely cut off and the cities are carrying on no 
public works. 

The metal of the streets is badly broken and needs repair, the sidewalks are going 
to ruin, and the streets are no longer kept clean. 

Asylums should be built for the insane, blind, and poor, who now roam at large 
as beggars in such a filthy condition that they must necessarily be the means of 
spreading disease. 

The natives would make good use of corn imported from the United States, which 
sells for less than that produced at home. They know how to use ground corn 
where they do not know- how to prepare wheat flour. 
Very respectfully, 

Alonzo Gray, 
First Lieutenant, Fifth Cavalry, Commanding Subpost. 



REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 325 

Appendix IT 15. 

Municipal Finances. 

Budgets for the towns of the island of Puerto Rico. 

FISCAL YEAR 1897-98. 

[Stated in provincial currency.] 



Town. 


Expenditures. 


Receipts. 


Deficit. 


Overplus. 




$46, 892. 00 
14, 431. 55 
52, 619. 41 
18, 564. 18 
15, 991. 03 
40, 286. 92 
64, 902. 30 
14, 782. 84 

13. 657. 49 
14, 356. 63 
14, 557. 84 
31, 799. 00 

27. 999. 50 
43, 144. 46 
14, 697. 10 
17, 956. 74 
33, 398. 72 

9, 932. 47 
28, 575. 60 
13, 495. 94 

27. 883. 43 
16, 303. 99 

19. 283. 13 
14, 036. 05 
28, 858. 96 
52,223.24 
20, 692. 29 

11. 398. 44 
10, 120. 07 
22, 538. 69 

8, 974. 25 
60, 787. 51 
15, 996. 23 
44, 988. 54 
17, 880. 07 

14. 419. 34 

42. 484. 41 
25, 592. 96 
12, 612. 28 
15, 562. 46 

29. 342. 14 
30, 850. 87 
16,290.82 

185, 506. 00 
13, 989. 90 
15, 199. 33 

19. 186. 66 

12. 024. 00 
20, 818. 75 
20, 677. 72 
12, 282. 17 

267, 134. 14 
10, 396. 86 
8, 659. 07 
10, 958. 46 
18,466.18 
13,261.51 
21, 946. 98 
54, 008. 77 

598, 483. 00 
38, 819. 83 

16. 288. 42 
10, 927. 22 

9, 942. 72 
8, 715. 00 

60. 521. 01 
13, 794. 41 

31. 910. 35 

21. 375. 67 
32, 654. 52 
62, 839. 00 


$46, 892. 00 
14, 431. 55 
52, 619. 41 
18, 564. 18 
17, 101. 92 
40, 286. 92 
- 64, 902. 30 
14, 782. 84 

13. 657. 49 
14, 356. 63 
14, 557. 84 
31, 799. 00 

27. 999. 50 
49, 567. 83 
14, 697. 10 

17. 956. 74 
33, 398. 72 

9, 932. 47 
28, 575. 60 
13, 495. 94 
27, 883. 43 
16, 303. 99 

19. 283. 13 
14, 036. 05 
28, 858. 96 
52, 223. 24 
20, 692. 29 
11, 398. 44 
10, 120. 07 
22, 538. 69 

8, 974. 25 

50. 787. 51 
15, 996. 23 
44, 988. 54 
17, 880. 07 

14. 419. 34 

42. 484. 41 
25,592.96 
12, 612. 28 
15, 562. 46 

29. 342. 14 
30, 850. 87 
16, 290. 82 

185, 506. 00 
13, 989. 90 
15, 199. 33 

19. 186. 66 

12. 024. 00 

20. 818. 75 
20, 677. 72 

12. 282. 17 
267, 134. 14 

10, 396. 86 
8, 659. 07 
10, 958. 46 

18. 466. 18 
13,261.51 
23, 355. 86 
54, 008. 77 

598, 483. 00 
38, 820. 03 

16. 288. 42 
10, 927. 22 

9, 942. 72 
8, 715. 00 

60. 521. 01 
13, 794. 41 

31. 910. 35 

21. 375. 67 

32. 654. 52 
62, 839. 00 




























$1, 110*89 






















































6, 423. 37 























































































Hatillo .' 





































































i 






















































Piedras 












Quebradillas 












Rio Grande 






Rio Piedras - 






Sabana Grande 










1, 408. 88 


San German 










San Sebastian 




.20 


Santa Isabel 






Toa Alta 






Toa Baja 






Trujillo Alto 






TJtuado. . .■ 






Vega Alta 






Vega Baja. 






Vieques 






Yabucoa 






Yauco 












Total 


2, 697, 949. 54 


2, 706, 892. 88 




8, 943. 34 







326 



REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 



Budgets for the towns of the island of Puerto Rico — Continued. 

FISCAL YEAR 1899-1900. 
[Stated in American money.] 



Town. 



Expenditures. Receipts. 



Deficit. 



Overplus. 



Guayanilla 

Corozal 

Bayam6n 

Dorado 

Aibonito 

Carolina 

San German . . 

Coamo 

Fajardo 

Yabucoa 

Humacao 

Yauco 

Piedras 

Hato Grande.. 
Aguas Buenas 

Manati 

Juncos 

Ciales 

Arecibo 

Ponce 

Rio Piedras . . . 

Vieques 

Toa-Baja 

Cayey 

Isabela 



Total. 



NOT YET APPROVED. 



Juana Diaz 

Naguabo 

Utuado 

Salinas 

Vega-Alta 

Toa Alta 

Hatillo 

Aflasco 

Cabo-Rojo 

Camuy 

Quebradillas... 

Maricao 

Loiza 

Sabana Grande 

Cidra 

Las Marias 

Ad juntas 

Caguas 

Mayaguez 

Peiiuelas 

Sta Isabel 

Aguadilla 

Guayama 

Trujillo Alto... 

Barceloneta 

Barranquitas .. 

Barros 

Comerio 

Lajas 

Lares 

Maunabo 

Morovis 

Naranjito 

Patillas 

Rincon 

San Juan 

San Sebastian.. 

Vega-Baja 

Rio-Grande 

Gurabo 

' Aguada 

Moca 

Arroyo 



5, 
15! 

4j 

6. 

II 

16! 

13; 

15, 

11, 

19, 

33, 

3, 

5, 

7, 

11. 

8, 

10. 

65; 

181, 

12, 

8, 

3, 

14, 

10, 



000. 00 
155. 40 
066. 30 

246. 90 
842. 00 

378. 13 
775. 17 
308. 62 

639. 91 
800. 52 
893. 20 
450. 92 
162. 90 
404. 78 
048. 28 
628. 00 
155. 78 
032. 20 

633. 59 

359. 14 
707. 82 

976. 60 
554. 72 
368. 19 
441.72 



513, 030. 79 



17 
26 
104 
14 

7. 
29 
17. 

2. 

6. 

3: 

6. 

8; 
5; 

12. 
4, 
9, 
5, 
6. 
2, 
368, 

11, 
9, 
8, 

10, 

10, 
7, 
6, 



414. 60 
, 349. 20 
181. 00 
163. 30 
491. 29 
880. 72 
473. 00 
626. 81 

803. 40 
564. 60 
675. 53 
196. 98 
034. 00 
324. 00 
468. 20 
395. 00 
723. 52 

870. 59 
724. 89 

691. 41 
217. 81 
517. 97 

452. 60 
752. 48 
900. 97 
731.38 
663. 19 
241.75 
415. 33 
176. 00 
396. 00 
609. 85 
487.00 
550. 00 
529. 96 
999. 28 
557. 67 
134. 80 
479. 76 
155. 66 
099. 32 
283. 00 
546. 65 



$17, 000. 00 
6, 446. 40 
15, 066. 30 
4, 246. 90 
6, 842. 00 
11, 378. 13 
16, 775. 17 
13, 308. 62 

15. 639. 91 
11, 800. 52 
19, 893. 20 

33. 450. 92 
3, 162. 90 
5, 404. 78 
7, 048. 28 

11, 628. 00 

8, 155. 78 

10, 032. 20 

77, 302. 98 

181, 359. 14 

12, 707. 82 

11,457.45 

3, 554. 72 

14, 368. 19 

10,441.72 



$1,291.00 



11, 669. 39 



2, 480. 85 



528, 472. 03 



15, 441. 24 



23, 681. 60 
7, 349. 20 

48,181.00 
7, 163. 30 
5,491,29 
6, 880. 72 
6, 473.00 

13, 618. 46 

13, 803. 40 
6, 356. 67 
7, 675. 53 

14, 196. 98 
5, 626. 98 
7, 766. 15 
3,729.96 
9, 395. 00 

17, 723. 52 

19, 610. 54 
104, 724. 89 

13, 600. 57 
7, 217. 81 

29, 517. 97 

17, 714. 20 
1,971.49 
6, 900. 97 
3, 731. 38 
6, 663. 19 
8,828.85 
5, 415. 33 

12, 176. 00 
4, 396. 00 
8, 076. 78 
5, 487. 00 
6, 550. 00 
2, 529. 96 
368, 999. 28 
7, 885. 00 
9, 134. 80 
7,721.04 

10, 155. 66 

10, 099. 32 
7, 158. 90 
6, 546. 65 



$2, 733. 00 



1, 008. 35 
""267." 93 



592. 98 



557. 85 
738. 24 



7, 260. 05 
"i,'690.'84' 



261.60 



780. 99 



587. 10 



1,533.07 



3, 672. 67 



758. 72 



124. 1Q 



Total 1, 429, 981. 26 



1, 426, 398. 37 



20, 465. 81 



16, 882. 92 



REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 

Budgets for the toivns of the island of Puerto Rico — Continued. 

RECAPITULATION. 



327 



Town. 


Expenditures. 


Receipts. 


Deficit. 


Overplus. 


Approved 


1513, 030. 79 
916, 950. 47 


S528, 472. 03 
897, 926. 34 




115,441.24 
1,441.68 




120, 465. 81 




Total 


1, 429, 981. 26 


1, 426, 398. 37 


20, 465. 81 


16, 882. 92 





San Juan, P. R., September SO, 1S99. 



Cayetano Coll y Toste. 



Appendix U 16. 

Statistics on Coffee, Sugar, and Tobacco. 

[By Dr. Cayetano Coll y Toste, Civil Secretary.] 

SUGAE. 

Sugar cane was taken to Hispaniola in 1506, whence it was brought to Puerto Rico 
in 1515. That cane is still called in this island the "creole" cane. The sugar cane 
most generally used now is the Tahiti cane, which the French found in 1606 in the 
Society Islands. 

In 1548, Gregorio de Santa Olaya founded, near the Bayamon River, the sugar-cane 
plantation Santa Ana, operated by water and horse power. Until then, nothing but 
molasses had been made in the country. 

In the year 1546, the treasurer of the island, Juan de Castellanos, for account of the 
Government, had already lent 6,000 pesos to establish two sugar plantations. In 1549, 
Alonso Perez Martel, with 1,500 pesos that the monarch lent him, fitted up a sugar 
mill. In 1581, 11 factories worked in the island: 4 on the banks of the Bayamon 
River, 1 at Caparra, 3 on the banks of the Toa River, 1 at Canovanas, and 2 at Loiza. 
They produced yearly 15,000 arrobas (1 arroba=25 pounds) of sugar, and already con- 
stituted at that time the principal wealth of the island. They were small mills. 
Nine of them were moved by horsepower and 2 by water. In 1602, there were only 
8 mills, which produced that year 3,000 arrobas of sugar, because the owners of those 
lands devoted themselves more to the cultivation of ginger. Governor Sancho Ochoa 
de Castro in 1603 called a meeting of the corporation of San Juan, and prohibited 
cane planters from cultivating ginger and ordered them to devote themselves to sugar 
only. In that year the island produced 15,000 arrobas of ginger. The hurricane of 
September 12, 1615, "razed the remaining sugar plantations, but in 1620, 4 mills were 
erected with great difficulty and with the aid of the Government. In 1624, 24 
boxes, containing 775 arrobas of sugar, were sent to King Felipe IV, as a contribu- 
tion to aid him in the war against the French. There were, in 1644, 7 sugar plan- 
tations, according to the chronicle. In 1776, Governor O'Reylly reported 10,947 
arrobas of sugar and 78,884 jars of cane-juice sirup. 



328 REPORT OF BRIGADIER -GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 

Statistics, 



Year. 



1850 
1851 
1852. 
1853. 
1854, 
1855. 
1856. 
1857. 
1858. 
1859. 
1860. 
1861. 
1862 
1863 
1864. 
1865. 
1866 
1867. 
1868. 
1869 
1870, 
1871 
1872 
1873 
1874 
1875. 
1876 
1877, 
1878, 
1879 
1880 
1881 
1882 
1883 
1884 
1885 
1886 
1887 
1888 
1889 
1890 
1891 
1892 
1893 
1894 
1895 
1896 
1897 



Quantity. 



Pounds. 
112,129,432 
118, 416, 304 

93, 631, 396 
110, 605, 859 
107, 870, 251 
101, 437, 866 
116,867,822 

86,391,546 
123, 542, 292 

88, 443, 323 
116, 015, 181 

131. 035. 471 
128, 802, 537 
116, 245, 504 

92, 511, 988 
121, 053, 963 
111, 358, 765 
120, 251, 796 
123, 414, 862 
144, 950, 621 
191, 649, 670 
206, 606, 711 
178, 199, 242 
190, 520, 284 
155, 990, 115 
162, 193, 601 
147,659,218 
123, 156, 488 
166, 383, 955 
340, 647, 036 
221,242,894 
126, 208, 267 
183, 846, 681 
175, 423, 826 
217, 742, 834 
195, 710, 198 
140, 311, 057 
177, 743, 229 
136,372,273 
139, 943, 146 
128,021,909 
105,807,700 
148, 063, 390 

94,792,834 
106, 500, 049 
131, 870, 350 
122, 688, 689 

126. 827. 472 



Value. 



Pesos. 
3, 910, 167. 38 

3. 552. 489. 12 
2,808,941.88 
3, 318, 175. 77 

3. 236. 107. 53 
3, 043, 135. 98 
3, 580, 606. 71 
2, 591, 746. 38 

3. 706. 268. 76 
2, 692, 861. 81 
3, 480, 455. 43 

3. 931. 064. 13 
3, 861, 076. 11 
3,487,365.12 
2, 775, 359. 64 
3, 631, 618. 89 
3, 340, 762. 95 
3, 607, 553. 88 
3, 702, 445. 8G 
4, 348, 518. 63 
5, 749, 490. 10 

6. 198. 201. 33 
5, 343, 577. 26 
5, 715, 608. 52 

4. 679. 703. 45 
4, 865, 808. 03 

4. 429. 776. 54 
5, 542, 041. 95 
7,487,211.97 
4, 645, 186. 86 
3, 016, 948. 55 
3, 741, 351. 93 
5, 431, 833. 69 
5, 182, 978. 62 

6. 433. 340. 52 
5, 182, 978. 62 
4, 145, 521. 42 

5. 251. 504. 53 

4. 029. 180. 77 
4, 134, 683. 86 

3. 782. 645. 50 
3, 126, 136. 57 

4. 038. 152. 46 
2,944,438.13 

3. 194. 865. 51 
4, 047, 399. 51 

3. 734. 562. 34 
4, 007, 999. 08 



Duties 
(export) . 



313, 600. 50 
199, 209. 20 
124, 711. 74 
183,440.68 
175, 423. 79 
217, 743. 84 
195, 709. 98 
110, 309. 98 
148, 448. 78 
78, 760. 92 

Free. 

Free. 

Free. 

Free. 

Free. 

Free. 

Free. 

Free. 

Free. 



EEPOET OF BEIGADIEE-GENEEAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 



329 



The first coffee arborets were taken from the Botanic Garden of Paris to Martinique 
by Mr. Gabriel de Decliew in 1720. Coffee was brought from Guadeloupe to Puerto 
Rico in 1763. The Spanish Government requested in 1769 a report on the growth of 
the coffee trees, and 22 boxes of the coffee which they had already begun to gather 
were sent as samples. According to the statistics for 1770, there were 29,121 arrobas 
of coffee, and Governor O'Eeylly in 1776 reported 45,049 arrobas. 

Statistics. 



Quantity. 



Value. 



Duties 
(export) . 



1850. 
1851. 
1852. 
1853. 
1854. 
1855. 
1856. 
1857. 
1858. 
1859. 
1860. 
1861. 
1862. 
1863. 
1864. 
1865. 
1866. 
1867. 
1868. 
1869. 
1870. 
1871. 
1872. 
1873. 
1874. 
1875. 
1876. 
1877. 
1878. 
1879. 
1880. 
1881. 
1882. 
1883. 
1884. 
1885. 
1886.. 
1887.. 
1888. . 
1889. . 
1890.. 
1891. . 
1892. . 
1893. . 
1894.. 
1895. . 
1896.. 
1897. . 



Pounds. 
11, 783, 684 
12, 111, 971 
11, 580, 604 
11, 580, 763 
11, 271, 696 
13, 642, 264 
10, 555, 814 
9, 229, 483 
11, 139, 691 
13, 902, 296 
15, 924, 124 
13, 902, 296 
12, 678, 727 
16, 698, 808 
16, 874, 231 
18, 960, 252 
14, 924, 810 

19. 220. 194 
16, 063, 431 
15, 736, 163 
17, 416, 762 
20, 822, 229 
18, 355, 133 
25, 840, 533 

17. 769. 195 
26, 162, 600 
20, 826, 390 
15, 843, 887 
17, 051, 486 
67, 161, 382 
48, 032, 299 
47, 748, 210 
29, 788, 671 
37, 555, 118 
26, 065, 690 
21, 668, 519 
16, 700, 914 
12, 550, 751 
23, 225, 385 
17, 451, 090 
19, 919, 452 
18, 919, 871 
21,484,090 
22, 329, 261 
22, 909, 686 
18, 254, 254 
26, 662, 194 
23, 504, 999 



707, 
726, 
682, 
694, 
676, 
818, 
633, 
553, 
668, 
834, 
955, 
894, 
754, 
,001, 
, 012, 
,137, 
895, 
,153, 
963, 
944, 
045, 
249, 
101, 
550, 
066, 
569, 
249, 
010, 
32a 
1S9, 
077, 
077, 
791, 
779, 
317, 
067, 
093, 
514, 
503, 
858, 
577, 
297, 
452, 
611, 
913, 
492. 
864, 
222; 



021.04 
718. 26 
245. 78 
836. 24 
318. 14 
335. 84 
348. 08 
768. 98 
381. 46 
137. 76 
471.44 

137. 76 
723. 62 
928. 48 
450. 86 
615. 12 
488. 60 
211. 64 
805. 86 
179. 68 
005. 70 
337. 94 
207. 90 
431. 98 
151. 70 
761. 40 
583. 40 
338. 53 

039. 77 
743. 17 
304. 00 
304. 35 
285.40 
742. 10 
451. 48 
185. 72 
055. 96 
210. 28 
107. 80 
306. 04 
166. 56 
563. 88 
999. 60 
215. 72 
038. 26 
212. 08 
340. 88 
599. 48 



156, 934. 66 
105, 367. 26 
117, 955. 70 
73, 117. 63 
92, 180. 74 
63, 979. 43 
117, 010. 46 
90, 608. 87 
67, 774. 14 

125. 417. 08 
93, 695. 90 

107, 339. 64 
102, 167. 32 
116, 821. 87 

175. 216. 09 
287, 739. 35 
182, 542. 54 
266, 621. 94 
235, 049. 99 



Tobacco was first found in the Antilles and central part of Mexico, and even its 
very name is of Indo-Antillian origin. The leaf was called " cojiba " by the Puerto 
Rico Indians, and they applied the word " tabaco '' to some kind of pipe and also to 
the manufactured tobacco that we know by the name of "cigar." The Indians 
made much use of this aromatic leaf, but the Government fought the vice, and there 
are two Papal bulls excommunicating those who used tobacco, and a royal cedula, 
dated 1608, prohibited definitely the cultivation of tobacco in Puerto Rico. In 1634 
tobacco was again sown, and also cacao. 

According to statistics for 1770, there were 83,651 arrobas of tobacco, but Governor 
O'Reylly reported in 1776 only 28,070 arrobas. 

The cultivation of tobacco increased until, in 1836, when it was again exported from 
the island; then its cultivation diminished until large quantities were imported from 



330 



REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 



the neighboring islands, and in spite of the impulse communicated to the planting of 
tobacco in the time of the Intendant Ramirez, the leaf continued to be imported, and 
a merchant of San Juan, making use of the grace granted him by His Majesty, intro- 
duced 20,000 quintals at the beginning of this century, but only paid royal dues 
amounting to 10 pesos. 

Statistics. 



Year. 



1850 
1851 
1852 
1853 
1854 
1855 
1856 
1857 
1858 
1859 
1860 
1861 
1862 
1863 
1864 
1865 
1866 
1867 
1868 
1869 
1870 
1871 
1872 
1873 
1874. 
1875. 
1876. 
1877. 
1878. 
1879 
1880 
1881. 
1882. 
1883. 
1884 
1885. 
1886. 
1887. 
1888. 
1889 
1890 
1891 
1892 
1S93 
1894 
1895 
1896 
1897 



Quantity. 



Pounds. 
2, 973, 308 
6, 474 
5,339 



Value. 



Pesos. 
118, 932. 



258 
213 
147 
158 
99 
138 
160 
164 
84 
95 
310 
357 
179 
152 
190 
135 
65 
106 
143 
238 
215 
247 
199 
167 
227. 
127 
431 
894 
594 
831 

1,054 
761 
408 
573 

1,139 
662 

1,182 
495 

1,144 
589 
781 
773 
801 
641 
698 
422 

1,194 



979. 
5*9. 
9n5. 
325. 
002. 
120. 
996. 
614. 
761. 
010. 
152. 
S3*. 
733. 
741. 
431. 
19S. 
093. 
359. 
159. 
012. 
2-13. 
571. 
963. 
100. 
662. 
105. 
219. 
630. 
194. 
035. 
559. 
3S2. 
129. 
129. 
498. 
433. 
772. 
053. 
210. 
465. 
871. 
303. 
651. 
942. 
225. 
912. 
318. 



Duties 
(export) . 



Pesos. 



7, 969. 64 
10, 124. 56 
7,570.46 
5, 138. 43 
2, 754. 24 

3. 867. 37 
7, 698. 88 
4, 517. 63 
7, 616. 58 
3, 340. 85 
7, 721. 66 
3, 977. 99 
5, 276. 42 
4, 198. 49 
4,199.25 
3, 362. 55 

3. 657. 38 
2,215.25 
6, 255. 93 



General statistics on real-estate property in the island of Puerto Rico, 1897. 
[Compiled from information furnished by Dr. Cayetano Coll y Toste, Civil Secretary.] 





Classification of estates. 


Material. 




a3 
o 

d 

'O 

•55 
to 


3 

o 

,d 

a> 

H 
O 

CO 


Establishments. 


d 


o 

H 


Fh 

o 

s 

■a . 

£ is 

a 
o 

CO 


Sh~ 

I! 

aT'ci 
d d 

O a3 
CO 


•a 

o 
o 


n 
CO 




Towns. 


03 
bo 
B 
CO 


0) 

m 

o 
o 


o 
o 
o 

cS 
.O 

o 


d - 

<D o 

■^ p. 
O 


Declared 
valuation. 




518 
153 
531 
152 
153 
635 
862 
404 


44 

2 
11 

5 
30 

6 
35 

6 


'is 

3 


68 
1 




47 
24 
6 
15 
15 
41 
71 
26 


247 

85 

106 

145 

146 

534 

83 


924 
278 
657 
172 
348 
860 
1,515 
526 


1 

4 

38 

8 
17 
62 

7 


7 

31 

6 

4 

16 

101 

10 


874 
266 
506 
166 
189 
791 
804 
507 


49 

82 

147 
36 

548 
2 


Pesos. 
$259, 559. 70 




63, 540. 00 




391,311.29 








68, 667. 52 




"io" 

12 

6 


5 

22 

1 

1 




137, 303. 11 




366, 114. 26 




823,985.65 


Arroyo 


84,282.02 



KEPOET OF BEIGADIEE-GENEEAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 



331 



General statistics on real-estate property in the island of Puerto Rico, 1897 — Continued. 



Towns. 



Barceloneta 

Barranquitas 

Barros 

Bayanion 

Cabo B-ojo 

Caguas 

Camuy 

Carolina 

Cayey 

Ceiba 

Ciales 

Cidra 

Coamo 

Comerio 

Corozal 

Dorado 

Fajardo 

Gurabo 

Guayama , 

Guayanilla 

Hatillo 

Hato Grande 

Hormigueros 

Humaeao , 

Isabela 

Juana Diaz 

Juncos 

Lajas 

Lares 

Loiza 

Las Marias 

Luquillo 

Manati 

Maricao 

Mannabo 

Mayaguez 

Moca 

Morovis 

Naguabo 

Naranjito 

Patillas 

Penuelas 

Piedras 

Ponce 

Quebradillas 

Rio Grande 

Rio Piedras 

Rincon 

Sabana Grande... 

Salinas 

San German 

San Juan 

San Sebastian 

Santa Isabel 

Toa Alta 

Toa Baja 

Trujillo Alto 

Utuado 

Vega Alta 

Vega Baja 

Vieques 

Yabucoa 

Yauco 



Classification of estates. 



128 
176 
415 
616 

1,092 
568 
162 
225 
556 
145 
162 
66 
409 
171 
274 
207 
484 
179 
924 
367 
118 
227 
160 
505 
208 
815 
303 
431 
516 
205 
478 
241 
235 
507 
167 

2,799 
236 
274 
201 
94 
184 
382 
138 

2,583 
264 
164 
375 
108 
514 
189 

1,173 

1,514 
418 
262 
157 
167 
103 

1,212 
154 
293 
392 
346 

1,320 



Establishments. 



35 



28 



29 



O 



14 
25 
16 

81 

116 
36 
15 
42 
42 
24 
26 
12 
36 
9 
14 
8 
64 
15 
56 
47 
32 
28 
18 
50 
47 
85 
49 
47 
52 
46 

116 
10 
21 
62 
18 

226 
9 
42 
5 
14 
25 
45 
17 

119 
33 
30 
29 
6 
23 
17 

103 

155 
70 
23 
25 
26 
11 

144 
16 
21 
47 
49 



20 

119 

70 

715 

414 

134 

65 

116 

106 

71 

30 

127 

102 

52 

54 

56 

329 

110 

161 

171 

97 

235 

53 

203 

136 

591 

231 

71 

92 

93 

118 

144 

49 

230 

67 

232 

9 

84 

127 

152 

136 

52 

39 

848 

168 

188 

63 

28 

172 

100 

225 

229 

124 

48 

70 

137 

45 

344 

197 

194 

153 

222 

172 



181 
531 
539 

1,031 

1,666 
742 
250 
391 
742 
247 
266 
208 
573 
235 
358 
279 
900 
307 

1,171 
620 
251 
502 
244 
773 
410 

1,577 
598 
571 
826 
348 
790 
402 
320 
930 
259 

3,427 
276 
442 
346 
276 
353 
514 
200 

3,670 
472 
384 
474 
147 
734 
313 

1,550 

1,924 
690 
342 
256 
339 
162 

1,967 
371 
511 
603 
631 

1,649 



Material. 



4 

52 

13 

8 

3 

12 

59 

11 

55 

10 

3 

14 

9 

7 

1 

19 

14 

1 

405 

2 

1 

6 



6 
6 
1 

280 
5 
5 

21 
2 

20 
7 

54 
1,035 
8 
7 
1 
4 
3 

33 
1 

21 
1 



179 
193 
535 
586 

1,564 
547 
171 
243 
689 
197 
262 
'80 
445 
225 
354 
267 
783 
114 
941 
581 
133 
432 
219 
495 
333 
911 
497 
553 
794 
334 
736 
327 
222 
896 
190 

!,867 
239 
328 
214 
114 
339 
493 
188 

!,223 
216 
134 
408 
144 
547 
283 

,409 
671 
571 
281 
233 
326 
154 

, 854 
312 
398 
502 
572 

,492 



43 

71 

53 

14 

66 

3 

6 

112 

122 

162 



Declared 
valuation. 



42. 

51; 

87. 

482! 

278! 

328; 

41, 

194. 

346; 

45, 

84, 

28, 

236, 

52, 

55, 

81, 

222, 

53, 

476, 

150, 

52, 

102, 

118, 

469, 

■ 66, 

340, 

93, 

132, 

301, 

37, 

204, 

80, 

194, 

265, 

98, 

3, 203, 

57, 

79, 

71, 

33, 

82, 

100, 

38, 

3, 223, 

62, 

69, 

260, 

31, 

226, 

100, 

501, 

10, 544, 

189, 

106, 

38, 

65, 

27, 

618, 

52, 

154, 

153, 

119, 

563, 



,915.25 
, 509. 00 
359.00 
, 267. 00 
, 527. 25 
.513.78 
. 876. 60 
, 941. 00 
523. 50 
.046.00 
172. 00 
. 981. 00 
. 311. 04 
. 324. 00 
179. 65 
830. 50 
271. 63 
296. 00 
025. 07 
823. 54 
611.01 
483. 50 
600. 97 
598. 97 
277. 00 
013. 60 
736. 31 
018. 00 

319. 10 
218. 75 
513. 00 
349. 50 
738. 00 
146. 50 
120. 89 
924. 71 
112. 00 

881. 50 
692. 00 
178. 00 

738. 11 
047. 00 
018. 97 
421. 45 
254.00 
156. 00 
329. 27 
173>00 
636. 42 
250. 00 
892. 95 
803. 17 
097. 00 
945.00 
281. 00 
935. 31 
285.48 
497. 97 
530.50 
087. 75 
817. 26 

255. 51 
486. 00 



Residences 

Storehouses 

Sugar establishments 

Coffee establishments 

Tobacco establishments . . . 
Estates for other*purposes , 
Huts .. 



RECAPITULATION. 



31, 866 


1,043 


362 


875 


14 


3, 042 


10, 939 



Grand total of estates 4g 141 

Total declared valuation ......"... 828 867 928.79 



332 



REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 



Appendix U. 19. 



Receipts on account internal-revenue collections — Island of Puerto Rico — October 18, 

1898, to June 30, 1899. 





Taxes and imposts. 




Rural, ur- 
ban, and 
cattle. 


Industrial 
and com- 
mercial. 


Fees on 
property. 


Impost on 
mines. 


Personal 
taxes. 


SAN JUAN. 

November 


13, 335. 20 

18, 616. 87 

15, 309. 72 

8, 738. 18 

2, 447. 25 


19, 422. 43 

10, 276. 58 

9, 484. 97 

3, 838. 66 

603. 95 


888. 82 
609. 01 
381. 35 
307.56 
296. 32 


153. 60 


74.20 




.50 


January 




13.00 


February 




18.70 


March 1-11 












Total pesos 


58, 447. 22 


43, 626. 59 


2, 483. 06 


153. 60 


106.40 






March 12-31 


4, 183. 65 
2, 881. 38 
2,506.16- 
4, 658. 55 


6, 391. 19 
1, 200. 52 
2, 449. 92 
3, 889. 12 


79.80 
348. 57 
130. 97 
353. 76 






April 


13.80 
50.88 


30.15 


May 














Total dollars 


14, 229. 74 


13, 930. 75 


913. 10 


64.68 


30.15 






PONCE. 

October 


1, 398. 77 

11, 156. 70 

1, 667. 43 

622. 17 

9, 547. 38 


4, 420. 67 
2, 400. 47 
894. 85 
2, 131. 55 
4, 649. 93 


2, 746. 82 
1, 566. 96 
1, 505. 28 
1, 367. 01 
1, 042. 34 




211. 07 






152. 57 


December 




164.35 


January 




112. 65 








March 1-11 


















Total pesos 


24, 392. 45 


14, 497. 47 


8, 228. 41 




640. 64 








March 12-31 


9, 468. 36 
3, 109. 65 
5, 637. 17 
1, 904. 85 


848. 77 
2, 335. 47 
1, 355. 19 
1, 418. 59 


215. 79 

183. 07 

124. 19 

1, 034. 59 












May 






June , 












Total dollars 


20, 120. 03 


5, 958. 02 


1, 557. 64 












MAYAGUEZ. 

October 


174. 86 

123. 70 

388. 91 

4, 016. 73 

7, 409. 89 


42.52 

262. 07 

4, 005. 81 

5, 777. 63 

3, 683. 02 


798. 71 
1, 476. 78 
1,408.78 
1, 895. 83 
1, 485. 95 




22.95 






67.95 


December 




108. 30 






22.55 








March 1-11 




















12, 114. 09 


13,771.05 


7, 066. 05 




221. 75 








March 12-31 


4, 268. 81 
2, 898. 63 
2, 598. 30 
3, 983. 50 


661. 98 

1, 747. 13 

644.77 

639. 77 


179. 58 
98.69 

139. 24 
79.28 






























Total dollars 


13, 749. 24 


3, 693. 65 


496. 79 












AKECIBO. 

October 


636. 76 
1, 394. 68 
2, 327. 32 
2, 773. 23 
3, 564. 85 


339. 48 
895. 11 
1, 171. 85 
572. 54 
850. 40 


1, 186. 96 

673. 57 

1, 250. 75 

1, 357. 08 

323. 30 




13.95 






160. 55 


December 




16.00 






43.85 








March 1-11 




















10, 696. 84 


3, 829. 38 


4, 791. 66 




234. 35 








March 12-31 


4, 250. 22 
4, 283. 06 
4, 389. 70 
2, 201. 74 


1, 021. 05 
597. 06 
796. 99 
504. 89 


145. 51 
322. 34 
136. 67 
43. 82i 












May 


72.00 




June 












15, 124. 72 


2, 919. 99 


648. 34± 


72. 00 








AGUADILLA. 


722. 00 
1, 572. 36 

584.96 

3.24 

1, 265. 57 


602. 30 
761. 06 
727. 93 
430. 77 
1, 137. 69 


61.12 
314. 72 
291. 02 
141. 36 
220. 10 




362.00 






6.65 










« 


3.10 






March 1-11 




















4, 148. 13 


3, 659. 75 


1, 028. 32 




371.75 




==^ 





REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 



333 



Receipts on account internal-revenue collections — Island of Puerto Rico — October 18, 1898, 
to June 30, 1899— Continued. 





Taxes and imposts. 




Rural, ur- 
ban, and 
cattle. 


Industrial 
and com- 
mercial. 


Fees on 
property. 


Impost on 
mines. 


Personal 
taxes. 


aguadilla— continued. 
March 12-31 


967. 31 
1, 664. 11 

938. 88 
836. 62 


97.39 

316. IS 

1,062.69 

279.77 


97.30 

42.01 

9.00 


































4, 406. 92 


1, 756. 03 


148.31 












AEROYO. 


67.01 


220. 74 
615. 67 
454.74 
56.80 
235. 21 


1, 320. 62 
275. 45 
433. 01 
230. 45 
270. 74 




90 






3.40 




772. 68 
646. 57 
573. 86 




































2, 060. 12 


1, 583. 16 


2, 530. 27 




4.30 








HUMACAO. 






400. 35 
135. 25 
246. 85 
334. 24 
213. 29 
34.64 








89.00 
3, 247. 82 
3, 200. 66 
5, 150. 76 


246. 77 

1, 077. 49 

686. 15 

961. 62 




24.00 






15.05 












2.50 




















11,688.24 


2, 972. 03 


1, 364. 62 




41.55 








March 12-31 


1, 272. 39 
1,289.08 
2, 245. 37 
1,451.70 


414. 38 
599. 05 
477. 92 
254. 63 


244.26 
19.48 

175. 28 
99.00 


















June 














6, 258. 54 


1, 745. 98 


538. 02 












VIEQUES. 




461. 78 
56.20 

191. 90 

41.06 

3.28 




, 


7.85 




2, 868. 78 
344.76 

1, 424. 23 
113. 94 










































4, 751. 71 


754. 22 






7.85 










March 12-31 


272. 70 
428.48 
265. 58 
267. 69 


32.77 
97.97 
39.50 
25.52 








































Total dollars 


1, 234. 45 


195. 76 
















GUAYAMA. 






42.00 
















March 12-31 


3, 089. 98 

194. 78 

3, 643. 71 

1, 002. 69 


307. 71 

48.17 

475. 69 

107. 32 


40.80 

88.22 

83.55 

8.10 






April 






May 






June 












Total dollars 


7, 931. 16 


938. 89 


220. 67 












CAGUAS. 

April 


821. 5Q 
1, 200. 18 
4, 037. 74 


74.51 
216. 04 
560. 38 


266. 75 
4.18 
7.20 




7.80 




















Total dollars 


6. 059. 42 


850. 93 


278. 13 




7.80 








Total receipts in pesos 

Total receipts in dollars 


128, 298. 80 
89, 114. 22 


84, 693. 65 
31,990.00 


27,534.39 1 153.60 
4,801.00^ 136.68 


1, 628. 59 
37.95 



334 



REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 



Receipts on account internal-revenue collections — Island of Puerto Rico — October 18, 1898, 
to June 30, 1899— Continued. 





Stamps 

and stamped 

paper, etc. 


Insular property. 


Miscella- 
neous. 


Taxes in 




Rents. 


Sales. 


arrears. 


SAN JUAN. 


2, 171. 61 
123. 65 


18.31 
358. 25 

14.25 
168. 71 


44.50 

50.00 

1, 540. 75 


597. 43 

1, 826. 73 

1,447.07 

724. 81 

151. 27 














207. 64 


10, 562. 10 


March 1 11 




14.21 














2, 502. 90 


559. 52 


1, 635. 25 


4, 747. 31 


10, 576. 37 






March 12 31 








23.46 

86.03 

946. 01 

1, 111. 32 


61.20 






61.83 
51.30 
128. 53 


7.40 
220. 68 
120. 00 


412. 27 






23.86 




17.94 


365. 61 








17.94 


241. 66 


348. 08 


2, 166. 82 


862. 94 






PONCE. 


109. 50 

97.20 

101. 34 

417. 29 






361. 40 
242. 82 
253. 68 
258. 55 
132. 22 




























































725. 33 






1, 248. 67 










x ■ 


March 12 31 








154.68 
213. 57 
168. 03 
158. 02 








857. 44 










606. 00 


























857.44 


606. 00 


694. 30 










MAYAGUEZ. 


1, 271. 55 
497. 08 






23.05 

40.41 

36.19 

244.97 

26.8. 10 


















21.51 




















. 255. 01 


























1, 768. 63 






612. 72 


276. 52 


















30.98 
28. 59 
41.88 
24.47 


289. 93 




.60 
1.71 






78.45 








69.01 






















2.31 




■ 


125. 92 


437. 39 










ABECTBO. 








6.50 
103. 29 

10.91 
901. 83 

15.99 






1, 276. 37 
392.72 
314. 61 
334. 60 














322. 12 
















247. 54 
























2, 318. 30 






1, 038. 52 


569. 66 










2.98 
59.93 
14.33 
12. 80| 












18.77 








277. 90 


93. 63 








19.52 


















277. 90 


90. 04i 

7.91 
9.63 

68.81 
210. 41 

29.54 


131.92 









==== 


AGUADILLA. 


385. 02 
438. 98 
21.29 






















2.75 


















101. 73 
























Total pesos 


845. 29 






326. 30 


104. 48 



REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 



335 



Receipts on account internal-revenue collections — Island of Puerto Rico — October 18, 1898, 
to June 30, 1899 — Continued. 





Stamps 

and stamped 

paper, etc. 


Insular property. 


Miscella- 
neous. 


Taxes in 




Rents. 


Sales. 


arrears. 


aguadilla — continued. 
March 12-31 








43.89 

24.79 

1.50 

15.00 














May 


















5 62 












Total dollars 








85. 18 


5 62 












AEEOYO. 

October 


391. 12 
81.60 






238. 62 
10.09 
10.65 
34.74 
53.94 




November 




494. 73 
• 177.78 




December 






January 








February 










March 1-11 






















Total pesos 


472. 72 




672. 51 


348. 04 




HUMACAO. 

October 








3.41 
7.51 
5.34 




November 










December 










January 








32.89 




February 








33.41 
.03 




March 1-11 




























82. 59 














March 12-31 








17.08 

10.04 

8.83 

7.50 




April 








435 48 


Mav 










June 




















Total dollars 








43.45 


435 48 












VIEQUES. 

November 












December 












Januarv 












Februarv 












March 1-11 
























Total pesos 




















March 12-31 








April 








12. 30 
7.20 




May 










June 






















Total dollars 








19.50 














GUAYAMA. 

March 1-11 pesos. . 




- 




8.46 
















March 12-31 










April 








10.04 
18.20 














June 






















Total dollars 








39.00 | 90.22 










CAGUAS. 

April 


15.22 
5.46 
7.11 






25.78 
16.57 
11.77 


206. 31 
86.58 
3.24 


May 






June '.. 












Total dollars 


27.79 






54.12 


296 13 










Total receipts in pesos 

Total receipts in dollars 


8. 633. 17 
48.04 


559. 52 
1, 099. 10 


2, 307. 76 
1, 231. 98 


8, 412. 61 
3, 318. 331 


11,527.03 
2, 259. 70 



336 



REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 



Receipts on account internal-revenue collections — Island of Puerto Rico — October 18, 1898, 
to June 30, 1899 — Continued. 





Reimbursements. 


Deposits. 




.Pen- 
sions. 


Depart- 
ment, 
of state. ■ 


Depart- 
ment 
of 
finance. 


Depart- 
ment of 
justice. 


Depart- 
ment of 
interior. 


Guberna- 
tive. 


Judicial 


SAN JUAN. 












9, 272. 60 
63, 474. 36 
42, 578. 19 
46,435.38 
51, 028. 00 


800. 00 










2, 317. 56 
1, 000. 00 
6, 528. 42 


209. 59 


20.75 








20.83 
41.66 


12.50 








40.00 
333. 33 


12.50 




























62.49 


9, 845. 98 


582. 92 


212, 788. 53 


845. 76 














12.99 
1, 80o! 00 


15.00 


5.40 




20, 083. 51 
134, 604. 26 
126, 131. 32 
110, 513. 32 






12.82 


4.00 


25. 16 








12.50 






1, 800. 00 


66.72 




8, 053. 45 


9.68 












12.82 


3, 612. 99 


81.72 


5.40 


8, 057. 45 


391, 332. 71 


47.34 






PONCE. 














































1, 254. 60 














67.63 














5, 000. 00 














































67.63 


6, 254. 60 














March 12-31 












































36.00 
69.36 












































105. 36 


















MAYAGUEZ. 












318. 46 
1, 058. 18 
1, 541. 11 

264. 57 






























234. 28 






























March 1-11 












































3, 182. 32 


234. 28 
















March 12-31 














64.33 














































150. 00 


91.35 


























• ' 


150. 00 


155. 68 
















AEECIBO. 












17.44 
46.19 

6.85 
88.92 

9.02 






































































































168. 42 


















March 12 31 












3.58 
21.56 
18.70 

6.39 
















195. 60 
























































50.23 


195.60 
















AGUADILLA. 


13.02 










































































10.00 


































13.02 










10.00 








1 







REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 



337 



Receipts on account internal-revenue collections — Island of Puerto Rico — October 18, 1898, 
to June SO, 1899— Continued. 





Reimbursements. 


Deposits. 




Pen- 
sions. 


Depart- 
ment 
of state. 


Depart- 
ment 
of 
finance. 


Depart- 
ment of 
justice. 


Depart- 
ment of 
interior. 


Guberna- 
tive. 


Judicial. 


aguadilla— continued. 
March 12-31 . . 
















































June 
































































AEEOYO. 

October 










10.70 






November 


























49.61 




January 














February . . , 
















March 1-11 










































10.70 


49.61 
















HUMACAO. 

October 
















November 




























10.18 
17.50 


















February 














March 1-11 












































27.68 


















March 12-31 
















April 
















May 
















June 














66 00 


















Total dollars 














66.00 


















VIEQUES. 

November 
















December 
















































March 1-11 
































Total pesos 
































March 12-31 
































May t 
















































































GUAYAMA. 
































March 12-31 












144. 16 


















May 




























151. 10 


















Total dollars 












295. 26 


















CAGUAS. 

April 
































































Total dollars . . .". 
































Total receipts in pesos 


13.02 
12.82 




62.49 
81.72 


9, 845. 98 
5.40 


593. 62 
8, 057. 45 


216, 284. 19 
391, 933. 56 


7, 344. 63 
464. 62 


Total receipts in dollars 


3, 612. 99 



12558- 



-22 



338 



REPORT OF BRIOADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 



Receipts on account internal-revenue collections — Island of Puerto Rico — October 18, 1898, 
to June 30, 1899— Continued. 





Bonds and 
sureties. 


Transfer of 
funds — re- 
ceived from 
internal rev- 
enue col- 
lectors. 


Advances to 
be refunded. 


Consump- 
tion impost 
on liquors. 


Monthly 
totals. 


SAN JUAN. 


4, 200. 00 
1, 300. 00 
4, 856. 00 
22, 305. 00 
6,033.33 




1, 957. 34 




52, 936. 04 
99, 183. 85 
76, 658. 63 
99, 929. 38 
60, 907. 66 












































38, 694. 33 




1, 957. 34 




389, 615. 56 








March 12-31 


1, 800. 00 
13, 440. 00 

6, 280. 00 
16,077.57 








32, 656. 20 
161, 549. 98 






3, 310. 90 


3, 310. 89 

37, 853. 06 

5,581.76 






176, 656. 96 
152,747.33 
















37, 597. 57 




3, 310. 90 


46, 745. 71 


523, 610. 47 






PONCE. 










9, 248. 23 
15, 654. 35 
27,243.65 
20,577.65 
21,221.43 






37.63 

21,402.12 

15, 600. 80 

849. 56 
























































37, 890. 11 






93, 945. 31 










March 12 31 




6,230.90 

12, 757. 44 

5, 396. 21 

1, 285. 77 






16, 918. 50 










19, 456. 64 










13, 322. 79 
5, 871. 18 






















25, 670. 32 






55,569.11 










MAYAGUEZ. 










2, 652. 10 






861. 75 






4, 387. 92 










7, 744. 89 






326. 07 
11, 037. 34 






12, 548. 35 










24, 139. 31 




























12, 225. 16 






51, 472. 57 














6, 015. 71 

3, 763. 96 

1,013.13 

20. 06 






11, 511. 32 










8, 616. 05 










4, 508. 04 










4, 988. 43 














10, 812. 86 






29, 623. 84 










ARECIBO. 










2,201.09 






4, 069. 10 
6, 129. 42 
4, 628. 08 
814. 89 
4, 185. 19 






8, 618. 86 










11, 627. 94 










10, 680. 14 










6. 160. 59 










4, 185. 19 
















19, 826. 68 






43, 473. 81 
















3, 022. 31 
5, 263. 35 
2, 081. 30 
4, 001. 33 






S, 445. 65 










10, 761. 67 


M » 








7, 881. 22 


TllTIP 








6, 790. 50 
















14, 368. 29 






33, 879. 04 












AGUADILLA. 
















2, 025. 12 

21.69 

3, 988. 02 






5, 128. 52 










1,718.45 










4, 776. 90 










2, 764. 63 






























6, 034. 83 






16, 541. 87 













REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 



339 



Receipts on account internal-revenue collections— Island of Puerto Rico — October 18, 1898, 
to June 30, 1899— Continued. 



« 


Bonds and 
sureties. 


Transfer of 
funds — re- 
ceived from 
internal rev- 
enue col- 
lectors. 


Advances to 
be refunded. 


Consump- 
tion impost 
on liquors. 


Monthly 
totals. 


aguadilla — continued. 
March 12 31 




1, 702. 00 

1, 083. 53 

2, 204. 81 

465. 12 






2, 907. 89 










3, 130. 62 










4, 216. 88 










1, 602. 13 
















5,455.46 






11, 857. 52 












ARROYO. 




2, 852. 66 






5, 102. 37 










1, 480. 94 






4, 435. 45 

2, 152. 99 

609. 47 






6, 333. 92 










3, 121. 55 










1,743.22 




























10,050.57 






17, 782. 00 












HUMACAO. 










403. 76 












502. 53 












4, 602. 73 






4, 605. 00 
4, 748. 20 






8, 876. 44 
11, 109. 78 


















34.67 


















9, 353. 20 






25, 529. 91 












March 12-31 










1, 948. 11 






4, 968. 88 
1, 376. 72 
1, 968. 75 






7, 322. 01 










4, 284. 12 
3, 847. 58 






















8, 314. 35 






17, 401. 82 










VIEQUES. 




4.40 

352. 06 

2, 000. 00 






474. 03 










3, 277. 04 










2, 536. 66 
1,465.29 














i, 823. 22 






1, 940. 44 














4, 179. 68 






9, 693. 46 




^—= 








March 12-31 








305. 47 






370. 93 






909. 68 










312 28 






89. 91 






383. 12 












Total dollars 




460. 84 






1 910 55 












GUAYAMA. 

March 1-11 k pesos. . 










50.46 














March 12-31 










3, 682. 33 
3,731.94 
4,221.15 
4, 270. 51 


April 




3, 390. 73 






May 








June 




3, 000. 00 


















6, 390. 73 






15, 905. 93 










CAGUAS. 




1.94 

1,870.89 

953. 25 






1, 419. 81 










3 399 90 










5, 580. 69 










Total dollars 




2, 826. 08 






10, 400. 40 










Total receipts in pesos 


38, 694. 33 
37, 597. 57 


99, 560. 23 
74, 298. 93 


1, 957. 34 
3, 310. 90 




648, 104. 95 


Total receipts in dollars 


46, 745. 71 


700, 158. 68 



340 



REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 



Disbursements on account internal-revenue collections, island of Puerto Rico, October 18, 

1898, to June 30, 1899. 





Department of state. 


Period. 


Salaries 
and office 
expenses. 


Court of 

common 

pleas. 


Board of 
health. 


Beneficen- 
cia and 
lunatic 
asylum. 


Police of 
island. 


Monthly 
totals. 




241.14 
4, 313. 90 
3, 662. 66 
2, 256. 46 
3, 342. 39 

400. 00 




100. 00 
131. 66 
379. 97 
176. 04 
100. 00 






341.14 




166. 66 




1,580.36 
1, 293. 00 
2,441.31 
1, 763. 18 


6, 192. 58 




2, 000. 00 

4, 528. 42 

12, 937. 76 

3, 000. 00 


7, 335. 63 






9, 402. 23 






18, 143. S3 


March 1 to 11 




3, 400. 00 














14, 216. 55 


166. 66 


887. 67 


22, 466. 18 


7, 077. 85 


44,814.91 






March 12 to 31 


$2, 272. 06 
2, 470. 51 
1,958.28 
5, 360. 59 










f 2, 272. 06 








$6,464.23 




8, 934. 74 










1, 958. 28 








1,457.78 




6, 818. 37 














12, 061. 44 






7, 922. 01 




19, 983. 45 













Total disbursements, United States currency $19, 983. 45 

Total disbursements, Puerto Rico currency, converted into dollars at official rate ($0. 60) . . . 26, 888. 95 

Grand total 46,872.40 



Period. 



Department of finance. 



Salaries 
and office 
expenses. 



Salaries and 
expenses of 
internal rev- 
enue col- 
lectors. 



Salaries paid 
to a custom- 
house officer. 



Monthly 
totals. 



November ... 

December 

January 

February 

March 1 to 11 



Total pesos. 



March 12 to 31 

April 

May 

June 



Total dollars . 



5,411.97 

7, 244. 64 

2, 738. 02 

2, 902. 47 

188. S2 



601. 29 
516. 72 
569. 76 
302. 51 
70.83 



18, 485. 92 



2, 061. 11 



3, 379. 08 
.3,556.21 
3, 574. 84 
3, 904. 25 



1, 452. 37 
2, 132. 83 
2, 217. 72 
1, 999. 96 



14, 414. 38 



7, 802. 88 



55.40 



6, 013. 26 
7, 761. 36 
3, 307. 78 
3, 260. 38 
259. 65 



20, 602. 43 



4, 831. 45 
5, 689. 04 
5, 792. 56 
5, 904. 21 



22, 217. 26 



Total disbursements United States currency ■ 

Total disbursements Puerto Rico currency, converted into dollars at official rate ($0. 60) . 



$22,217.26 
12,361.46 



Grand .total 34,578.72 







Department of justice. 




Period. 


Salaries and 
expenses. 


Salaries and 

expenses of 

clergy. 


Penitentiary. 


Monthly 

totals. 




5, 919. 11 
11, 923. 78 
13, 946. 56 
11, 622. 44 
10, 959. 02 
206. 75 






5, 919. 11 




1, 490. 40 


1, 468. 66 
5, 773. 72 
3, 516. 37 
5, 881. 67 


14, 882. 84 




19, 720. 2S 




117. 37 


15,256.18 




16, 840. 69 






206. 75 










Total pesos 


54,577.66 


1,607.77 


16, 640. 42 


72, 825. 85 


March 12 to 31 


$11, 974. 04 
10, 930. 68 
14, 125. 14 
13, 441. 72 


$19. 79 


$677.62 
2, 267. 11 
1, 532. 28 
4, 518. 75 


~~ $12,671.45 




13, 197. 79 






15, 657. 42 




61.75 


18, 022. 22 








50, 471. 58 


81. 54 


8, 995. 76 


59, 548. 88 







Total disbursements United States currency 

Total disbursements Puerto Rico currency, converted into dollars at official rate 



.60).... 



$59, 548. 88 
43, 695. 51 



Grand total 103 > 244 - 39 



REPORT OF BRIGADIER- GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 



341 



Disbursements on account internal-revenue collections, island of Puerto Rico, October IS, 
1898, to June 30, 1899— Continued. 



October 

November 

December 

January 

February 

March 1 to 11 . 



Period. 



Total pesos . 



March 12 to 31. 

April 

May 

June 



Total dollars 



Department of interior. 



Salaries 
and office 
expenses. 



3, 200. 24 
2, 374. 47 
2, 272. 92 
2, 230. 43 
30.00 



10, 108. 06 



$2, 280. 40 
2, 181. 59 
1, 745. 78 
1,611.62 



7, 819. 39 



Education. 



Public 
works. 



4, 665. 77 
4, 083. 66 
3, 149. 93 
4, 635. 75 



16, 535. 11 



S3, 224. 78 

2, 883. 12 

210. 00 

5, 708. 67 



12, 026. 57 



703. 70 
8, 347. 54 
5, 884. 43 
8, 704. 72 
3, 880. 57 



27, 520. 96 



$3, 644. 49 
3, 944. 72 
3, 952. 42 
4, 081. 17 



15, 622. 80 



Post-office 
and tele- 
graph; 



201. 37 
262. 31 
2S6. 50 



Monthly 

totals. 



703. 70 
16, 213. 55 
12, 543. 93 
14, 389. 88 
11, 033. 25 
30.00 



54, 914. 31 



$9, 149. 67 
9, 009. 43 
5, 908. 20 

11, 401. 46 



35, 468. 76 



Total disbursements United States currency 

Total disbursements Puerto Eico currency, converted into dollars at official rates ($0.60) . . 



135, 468. 76 
32, 948. 58 



Grand total. 





Pensions. 


Loss, con- 
version 
of Puerto 

Rican 
currency. 


Commis- 


Period. 


Civil. 


Military. 


By special 
grant. 


Half-pay 
officers. 


subcolleet- 
ors, also 
overpaid 

taxes 
returned. 


October 




1 






697 41 


November 










3 084 36 


December 


1, 780. 46 
12.50 


1, 316. 22 
540. 13 


1,033.07 


1,652.82 




2 252 24 


January 




2 336 50 


Februarv 








2 957 67 


March 1-11 




























Total pesos 


1, 792. 96 


1, 856. 35 


1,033.07 


1, 652. 82 




11 335 18 








March 12-31 










$2, 105. 50 


$1, 670. 35 


April 






















2, 092. 30 
1, 796. 05 


June 


1178. 51 


$158. 24 




190. 03 










Total dollars 


178. 51 


158. 24 




90.03 


2, 105. 50 


7, 389. 51 









Transfers 
—Funds 
credited 
to various 
internal 
revenue 
collectors. 


Consump- 
tion 
impost on 

liquors 
returned. 


Salaries 

paid by 

special 

order. 


Immi- 
grants 
from 
South 
America. 


Advances 
refunded. 


Promissory notes. 


Period. 


Interest 

and 
discount. 


State 

notes 

returned. 




415. 46 

6, 595. 21 

32, 340. 56 

11, 100. 03 

24, 291. 72 

1,823.22 














November 




1, 631. 80 

1, 547. 92 

415. 62 

35.00 

35.00 








539. 23 

177. 78 

1,248.00 


December 




6.27 


1, 957. 34 




January 




114. 00 


February 








March 1-11 
























Total pesos 


76, 566. 20 




3, 665. 34 


6.27 


1,957.34 


114. 00 


1, 965. 01 






March 12-31 


$17, 621. 11 
28, 811. 56 
14, 162. 09 
12,400.18 




$35. 00 
35.00 
86.00 
65.00 










April 


$6, 578. 70 
37, 853. 06 
5, 581. 76 




$3, 310. 90 
8, 721. 13 
8, 931. 88 






May 








June 




$3, 832. 80 










Total dollars 


72, 994. 94 


50, 013. 52 


221. 00 




20, 963. 91 


3, 832. 80 











3-12 



REPORT OF BRIGADIER-GENERAL GEO. W. DAVIS. 



Disbursements on account internal-revenue collections, island of Puerto Rico, October 18, 
1898, to June SO, 1899— Continued. 





Deposits returned. 


Bonds and 

sureties 

returned. 


Monthly 




Gubernative. 


Judicial. 


totals. 










1,112.87 




8, 700. 00 

51,669.12 

40, 523. 09 

56,479.80 

100. 00 


306. 33 
13.20 


1, 800. 00 

5, 000. 00 

19, 800. 00 

25, 200. 00 

3, 200. 00 


22, 656. 93 




100, 747. 00 




76, 089. 87 






108, 964. 19 


March 1-11 




5, 165. 22 










157, 472. 01 


319. 53 


55, 000. 00 


314, 736. 08 






March 12-31 


$49, 401. 72 

95, 672. 20 

162, 867. 04 

106, 940. 82 






$70. 833. 68 


April 

May 


$3, 615. 00 


$5, 880. 00 
6, 810. 00 
2, 283. 60 


145, 734. 17 
232, 606. 06 




37.50 


142, 296. 37 








414,881.78 


3, 652. 50 


14, 973. 60 


591,470.28 







RECAPITULATION. 



Period. 



October 

November . 
December. . 

January 

February . 
March 1-11 . 



Total pesos. 

March 12-31 

April 

May 

June 



Total dollars . 



Total in United States currency 

Total in Puerto Rico currency, converted into dollars at official rate ($0.60) 



Grand total 



Receipts. 



21, 760. 92 
89, 183. 19 
161, 732. 47 
139, 776. 32 
168, 533. 63 
67, 118. 42 



648, 104. 95 



$78, 375. 47 
216, 898. 40 
218,803.34 
186, 081. 47 



700, 158. 68 



700, 158. 68 
388, 862. 97 



1,089,021.65 



Disburse- 
ments. 



8, 076. 82 

65, 959. 16 

148, 108. 20 

118, 445. 94 

158, 241. 84 

9, 061. 62 



507,893. 8 



$99, 755. 30 
182,565.17 
261,922.52 
184, 445. 64 



728, 688. 63 



728, 688. 63 
304, 736. 15 



1,033,424.78 



Total receipts $1,089,021.65 

Total disbursements 1,033,424.78 



Balance. 



A 



55,596.87 

9,561.48 is represented by 



Of the balance above shown, $36,035.39 is in United States currency and ! 
Ventures, bonds, and securities. 

Respectfully submitted, C. H. Heyl, 

\ Lieutenant- Colonel, Inspector- General, U. S.V. 

^headquarters Department of Puerto Rico, 

Inspector-General's Office, 

San Juan, December 29, 1S99. 



o 



JUL 



^o raw 



